1/ 




Glass 
Book 



JUJ±o 



Copyright)]^. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/discoveriesinsouOOwhee 



DISCOVERIES 



IN 



SOUTH AMERICA 



AND 



WEST INDIES 



BY 
W. W. WHEELER 

AtTTHOR OF "Three Months in Foreign Lands' 
"a Glimpse of the Pacific Isles" and 

"Encircling the Globe" ■, . ■ 



■WITH ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE HALF-TONE CUTS OF THE MOST BEAtrTIFTTE 
VIE'VVS IN THE SOUTHERN FART OF THIS HEMISPHERE 



COPTRIGHTBD lOll 

Bx W. -W. l^^HEELER 



INDEX 

Page 

Pernambuco 7 

Sao Paulo 11 

Santos 19 

Montevedio 21 

Argentina 27 

Across the Andes 45 

Santiago 55 

Valparaiso 61 

Magellan Strait 73 

Punta Arenas 75 

Rio Janeiro 81 

Bahia 107 

Para 115 

Brazil 119 

St. Thomas 125 

San Juan, Porto Rico 127 

Jamaica 137 

Kingston 139 

Panama Canal 147 

La Guayra, Venezuela 157 

Caracas 159 

Venezuela 161 

Trinidad 165 

Barbados 173 

St. Pierre, Martinique 175 

Dominica 177 

Santo Domingo 181 

Santiago de Cuba ; .183 

Havana '. '. 187 

Nassau 195 



/^ ^ -^^cl 



©CI.A305096 



EXPLANATORY. 

As to the name of this Httle book, we do not claim to be 
the first discoverers of this part of the world. Columbus and 
other early navigators did that, four hundred years ago, and 
they are entitled to the thanks of mankind for their efforts, 
but we discovered many things which the early navigators 
did not see. They never discovered the "Panama Canal," or 
the greatest cities of the southern half of the world, or the first 
great railway across the Andes, and many other things, which 
the lapse of time has brought into view. Therefore, we think 
we have the best of them in the discoveries. 

Recently a friend said to me, "while you are away on 
these delightful journeys, do you ever think of us, who would 
be so pleased to make these trips with you, if our circumstances 
permitted?" We certainly do think of you every day while 
away, and for that reason have made these photographs and 
notes of what we saw, that we might impart to our friends 
as much of the pleasure of making the trip as possible, and 
we hope you may find the following pages entertaining and 

instructive. 

Yours very sincerely, 

W. W. WHEELER. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



Yes, we're just back, from our South American trip, 
We had pleasant company, and a very steady ship ; 
The saihng was dehghtful, without a single storm. 
Weather always fine, and sometimes very warm. 

II. 

Everything's turned 'round, down south of the Equator, 
In the land of the crocodile, and the alligator ; 
You look north, to see the moon and sun. 
When our winter's over, their's is just begun. 

III. 

The scenery was beautiful, in Magellan Strait, 
And crossing the Andes, certainly was great ; 
The most delightful views, are around old Rio, 
And we had no earthquakes at Valparaiso. 

IV. 

Argentina raises, the greatest crops of wheat. 
And almost everything that man needs to eat ; 
The Pampas are covered with horses, sheep and cattle. 
Enough to feed all Europe, when she goes to battle. 

V. 

Monkeys and parrots abound, along the Amazon River, 
That's where we get our rubber, and the yellow fever; 
In Patagonia we find sea spiders and the albatross, 
What a great country, this land of the southern cross. 



SOUTH AMERICA 



n4 I ' \' 4IMI 




PERNAMBUCO 

We made a short visit to this city of one hundred and 
fifty thousand people on February 2nd, 191 1. It is a pretty 
place, with two canals running north and south, and a shel- 
tered harbor, which makes it look somewhat like a Venice. It 
is sometimes called "The Venice of Brazil," although the 
tropical trees, flowers and fruit gave it a much more beautiful 
appearance than the Italian city. The Holland Dutch took 
this place from the Portuguese in 1631, and held it for sev- 
eral years, and even now there are traces of their visit in the 
glazed tiled buildings, and the fair complexion of a few of 
the natives. The color of these people is varied, ranging from 
Dutch white to African negro. The majority being brown, 
of the Portuguese type, and they all speak the Portuguese 
language. We arrived on a Holy Day, not Sunday, and saw 
a large gathering at a church to christen an infant. The 
many little girls were beautifully dressed in white, and made 
a very pretty show, but their faces showed a mixture of the 
different races. The temperature here is almost always warm, 
being only eight degrees south of the Equator. Still it never 
gets extremely hot ; the usual register is from 80 to 85 ; it was 
84 when we were there, and a good sea breeze made it quite 
pleasant. We had here our first experience with Brazilian 
money. The currency used here is called "Reis." The paper 
bills are handsomely engraved, and printed in denominations 
of 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 Reis, and silver 500 and 1,000 
Reis, and small coins in nickel. For $15.00, we bought 
42,000 Reis. When we had such a large number of Reis, 
we felt like a millionaire, until we came to. spend it, then it 
runs out so rapidly. A street car ride costs 200 Reis ; the car- 

7 



SOUTH AMERICA 




PERNAMBUCO 

riage hire is 6,000 Reis per hour. In paying it out, we felt 
like we were becoming bankrupt very rapidly; 1,000 Reis in 
paper or silver is worth thirty-two cents in our money. Per- 
nambuco is expending eight million dollars (gold) in im- 
providing her harbor and main streets. The break-water is a 
stone wall built on a natural coral reef, about four hundred 
yards from the dock, and forms a fairly good harbor for half 
a mile along the city front. This harbor is being made deep 
and a fine stone dock is being built. The buildings along the 
city front are being torn down, and a wide Avenida will be 
built, also two wide Avenidas will radiate to the two large 
bridges which cross the canals. When this is done the city 
will present a fine appearance and will be very convenient for 
loading and shipping large exports of sugar and cotton. This 
is the largest sugar exporting city in South America, and 
considerable cotton is also shipped out from here. One large 
steamer loaded with cotton for the English market was just 
sailing as we entered the harbor. This port is fifth in rank 
in amount of exports from Brazil ; there were six steamers 
and about thirty sailing vessels in the harbor when we were 
there. The streets are narrow, but many small parks with 
beautiful tropical vegetation make the appearance of the city 
pleasing in spots. The street cars are moved by mule power, 
two men are recjuired, one to drive and one to weild the 
whip. We saw but one beggar, and he was a fellow citizen 
of the United States, a poor drunken hobo. It seems we 
are represented by a few of that class in nearly every foreign 
port of the world. We met the Secretary of the Local Y. M. 
C. A., Mr. John H. Warner, of Dayton, Ohio, a very pleas- 
ant gentleman. He gave us a cheerful report of the work 
of the association here. He has been here three years, and 
the association now have three hundred and seventy-five mem- 
bers, and are having a healthy growth, but they still have 
much opposition. 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SAO PAULO. 



Sao Paulo, where we visited February 6th, is the second 
city in Brazil, having a population of over four hundred thou- 
sand; they claim seven hundred thousand. Situated fifty 
miles from its sea port of Santos, and three thousand feet 
above the sea level, it was a great surprise to us. It is a clean, 
well sewered city, with fine wide Avenidas, beautiful parks — 
one of the wealthiest cities in South America, and a pleasant 
place for a residence. There are seventy-five miles of first- 
class electric street railways in Sao Paulo. We took a trolley 
ride over nearly the whole system and saw the city in all 
parts; great improvement is now going on. We were told 
by the superintendent of the street railway, that there are 
now being built fifteen hundred handsome residences each 
year. The city looks so new ; it has the appearance of being 
built yesterday, and the building is still going on at a great 
rate. There are miles of broad Avenidas which are lined 
on both sides with homes that cost from twenty to one hun- 
dred thousand dollars each. They are built of concrete, 
plastered on the outside with cement, colored a pale yellow 
tint, some with pale blue tint; very handsome architectural 
style, with spacious grounds. On some of the porches are 
beautiful frescos, painted on the outside walls, making a 
pretty picture to be seen from the street; these beautiful resi- 
dence sections look very pleasing to the traveler. We in- 
spected the new opera house, built by the city at a cost of 
five million gold; for architectural style and artistic beauty 
it is not equaled in the United States, and very seldom in 
Europe. It is not quite finished, but will be ready for use in 
a month; the ground occupied is equal to three ordinary city 
blocks. The grand staircase is a copy of the staircase in the 
Grand Opera House at Paris, France. There is a small park 
adjoining this grand opera house and the city is about to con- 
demn and tear down two blocks of buildings in the central 
part to make a larger and more beautiful city park. These 

II 



SOUTH AMERICA 




'"*%% 






*a^^ 



W^ 




SAO PAULO 

people do not hesitate to spend millions for improving and 
beautifying their city. The passenger railway station is also 
well worthy of mention. It is larger and better than any in 
the United States, with three or four exceptions ; built of steel 
and concrete, entirely fire-proof, very commodious and hand- 
some. We do not think there is sufficient passenger traffic 
at present to justify such a great railway station. The lan- 
guage of all Brazil is Portuguese, but the greater number of 
the residents of Sao Paulo are Italians, or of Italian descent, 
and the language mostly spoken here is Italian. In all this 
great and rapidly growing city, there is not a hotel fit for a 
white man to dwell in. We had intended to stay over night 
here, but after viewing two hotels, which they called the best, 
we decided to return to our quarters on the ship. It is said 
that a grand new hotel, to cost eleven million dollars gold, 
will soon be built here by a Swiss hotel company, and it is 
certainly greatly needed. This rapidly growing city is en- 
tirely caused by the coffee industry of Brazil. Over ninety 
million dollars worth of coffee is shipped through Sao Paulo, 
and its seaport Santos, per year, being eight-tenths of all the 
coffee used in the world. Sao Paulo is the market for the 
coffee districts of Brazil, being situated where the tempera- 
ture is pleasant and mild ; many of the wealthiest coffee grow- 
ers are making their homes here. The consumption of coffee 
throughout the world has doubled in the last ten years, and 
the industry here has increased accordingly. Another thing 
which has done much for the increase of Sao Paulo is the 
building of the Sao Paulo railroad to Santos; this railroad is 
entitled to a separate chapter of description. 

The Sao Paulo Raikvay Company a few years ago ob- 
tained a charter to build this road to Santos, thus giving Sao 
Paulo practically a seaport. Heretofore all transportation 
was done on the backs of donkeys, mules and horses, by pack 
trains. The charter of this railroad company requires them to 

13 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 



^^ 




pq 



< 

P4 

o 

< 

m 

m 

P 
o 

H 
O 

h:? 

6 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SAO PAULO 

pay over to the state all net earnings in excess of a fixed 
amount, (some told us 7 per cent and some 12 per cent) per 
annum. As they have had an immense traffic, their earnings 
have been enormous, and for above reasons have been spent 
in improvements. The road was built with a solid concrete 
road-bed and an endless steel wire cable, used to climb the 
mountain; thickness of the cable is 1% inches. This cable 
line extends for about ten miles, and in that distance they 
climb the mountains, rising three thousand feet. The cables 
are driven by four steam power plants located along the lines 
about every two and one-half miles. The trains are small 
and light, with a light engine, having enough steam power 
to handle the brakes, and move the cars a short distance in 
case of accident. The down trains help pnll the up trains, as 
all are gripped to the heavy endless cable ; there are a very 
few short tunnels and one high steel trestle. For almost the 
entire mountain section, where the cables are used, each side 
of the track has a gutter built with rock and cement, and in 
every place along the track where water would collect has 
been built a stone gutter or waterway, lined with cement, so 
that the heavy rains will not disturb the track. The scenery 
along this ten miles of mountain climbing is grand and beau- 
tiful. The employees of the road are native Brazilians, mostly 
of Portuguese descent, and handle this immense traffic with 
care and skill. The railroad company have built houses for 
their employees at all points along the line where needed. 
After the road had been in operation for some years the com- 
pany decided to build a parallel line, which new road has the 
same plan of cable for climbing the mountains, and separate 
power house for pulling the cables, so that the company now 
have two separate and complete lines for this hill climbing. 
The new line takes a slightly different course, and is from 
100 to 500 feet above the old road, on the side of the moun- 
tain. AVe went over the new road, but the old road was nearly 
alwa3^s in plain view, a few hundred feet below us. The build- 
ing of this second line will illustrate the immense traffic this 

17 



SOUTH AMERICA 




m 



SANTOS 

road has and the great profit they make. Both these roads 
are best construction of rock and cement we have seen in 
raih-oad building. They have put their profits into perma- 
nent betterments of their raih'oads and it is claimed that this 
is the best built piece of railroad in the world. 



SANTOS 



We landed at Santos, the shipping port for Sao Paulo, 
on February 6th. This port has a record in years past of 
having been one of the worst yellow fever places in South 
America, but it now has the appearance of being a bright, clean 
little seaport, population sixty thousand. The Santos River, 
with mountains on either side form a beautiful harbor, the 
town being about six miles inland from the sea entrance. The 
river has been dredged out, so that the larger steamers come 
up to the dock. These docks are over a mile long, with solid 
rock and cement built wharf all the way. There are large 
corrugated iron warehouses the entire length of the wharf 
or dock, wnth a double track railroad between the dock and 
the warehouses, and steel power cranes, for loading and un- 
loading ships, giving every possible advantage for the hand- 
ling of large freight cargoes. At the time we were in Santos 
there were thirteen large ocean steamers tied up at the dock, 
besides some sailing vessels. This is not the coffee season, 
and there is not much of that crop moving at present, but 
these great warehouses are filled with incoming merchandise 
of every description. Brazil manufactures but a small por- 
tion of the wares which she consumes, and we found here 
consigned to Sao Paulo, or more distant points, a wonderful 
variety of merchandise, such as white print paper, for news- 
papers, beer, bottled waters, wines, brandies, billiard tables, 
cotton cloth, railway engines, steel rails, railway cars, car 

19 



SOUTH AMERICA 




MONTEVEDIO 

wheels, iron water pipe, ropes, glass, nails, dry goods, medi- 
cines, etc. It would take the whole day to mention all the 
varieties of merchandise that this country uses and imports 
from other countries. We notice that almost every article 
comes from Europe. Our own country, which should supply 
a good share of South American needs, gets but little of their 
trade, although we are their best customers, and buy more of 
their coffee and rubber than any other country. In fact, we 
purchase from Brazil nearly half of their exports. The peo- 
ple of Santos are Portuguese, or their descendents. This is 
the largest port for exports of any point in Brazil ; the value 
of all shipments from Santos in 1909 was one hundred and 
thirty million dollars gold. The handling of this large vol- 
ume of merchandise is the chief employment of the people 
at Santos. There is a good line of horse cars in the central 
part of the city, and an excellent trolley line runs about eight 
miles to a surf bathing beach, in the suburban residence sec- 
tion. With the improvements established in recent years, San- 
tos is a fairly healthy port, although one of the hottest places 
in Brazil. 



MONTEVEDIO, 

This beautiful modern city of three hundred and fifty 
thousand population, situated at the mouth of the great river. 
La Plata, has a fair harbor, since it is protected by a 
breakwater. Before the building of this breakwater, it was 
a very poor harbor. The city has made a great effort to 
serve the shipping world; very extensive docks have been 
built in the last three years and the largest ships can now 
come alongside. There were twenty-one steamers and many 
large sailing vessels in port on February loth, 191 1. The 
climate is delightful, being latitude 35 south; there is no frost. 

21 



SOUTH AA/IERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




ONE OF THE LEADING DENIZENS OP THE ZOOLOGICAL 
GARDEN, MONTEVEDIO. 



MONTEVEDIO 

The general architectural appearance is much like Italy ; many 
beautiful parks and a grand opera house, built at the expense 
of the city, covering two acres, with many attractions. We 
took lunch at Pocito Hotel, a beautiful suburb, where sea bath- 
ing is fine, and a great resort for the society of Montevedio. 
The republic of Uraguay is the smallest in South America, 
being about one and half times as large in area as the state 
of New York, and has a population of a little over one mil- 
lion. The products are sheep, cattle, ostriches, Indian corn, 
barley, wheat, flour, oats, flax, and almost all kinds of animals 
and vegetables, such as grow in our United States. The 
money standard is the Peso, worth $1.04 in gold; one hun- 
dred Centisimos make one Peso; very easy for the foreigner 
to learn. The language is Spanish, and if one cannot speak 
that language he will find it very difficult to transact any 
business in this city. Education is enforced by law, and all 
children must attend primary schools. Montevedio is noted 
for its culture, educational facilities, its museum, libraries and 
many schools; also its excellent university, as well as many 
charitable institutions. We spent two hours in the zoological 
garden, which has the largest variety and the most interest- 
ing collection of any we have ever seen. The greatest variety 
of birds, from canary to the ostrich, all manner of fowls, rep- 
tiles, animals, both wild and domestic; all this great display 
is done at the expense of one of Montevedio's public spirited 
citizens. In this garden is the cemetery of those animals which 
have departed this life. A fine monument which cost several 
hundred Pesos is set up over a dead monkey. Another over 
the remains of a dog; one for a lion, another over a cobra 
snake, and a great many others. There are at least forty of 
these monuments, and in fact a beautiful cemetery. This is 
the only cemetery for animals we have ever heard of, and 
we hope this peculiar idea may not exist elsewhere, as the 
money would be so much better spent if invested in hospitals 
for the benefit of unfortunate humanity. 



25 



SOUTH AMERICA 




ARGENTINA. 



Has an area about as large as the United States east 
of the Mississippi river, and a total population of a little over 
six million, nearly one-quarter of which are in the City of 
Buenos Aires. It is the second Republic in size in South 
America, and at present is making more rapid progress than 
any other of these South American countries. Immigration 
is coming in at the rate of one-quarter of a million per year. 
A great amount of railroad building is going on. About fif- 
teen thousand miles are now in operation, and extensive im- 
provements are being made in every part of the Republic. Ex- 
ports are increasing at a rapid rate. Wheat, corn, flax and 
oats being the principal agricultural exports, while wool, 
frozen beef and mutton are shipped out in large quantities to 
Europe. It is claimed that Argentina now exports more food- 
stuff than any other country in the world. There are thirty- 
five steamship lines that sail regularly from Buenos Aires. 
The Government is patterned after our United States, prim- 
ary education is free, and compulsory, for all children be- 
tween six and fourteen years of age. The population is prin- 
cipally of Spanish descent, but the great Italian immigration 
now coming in make some sections almost like Italy. On Sat- 
urday night, February nth, we left Montevedio on the side 
wheel steamer "Viena," for Buenos Aires, where we arrived the 
next morning, coming up the La Plata River, about lOO miles. 
This is one of the wonderful rivers of the earth ; at Buenos 
Aires, lOO miles from its mouth, the La Plata is thirty-one 
miles wide. We went to the top of the La Prenza tower, 120 
feet high, and could not see across the river. It is like an 
ocean in appearance, except that the water is colored yellow 
by the great amount of earth which is washed down. This 
great body of water colors the sea for 100 miles out. Buenos 
Aires is in many respects a copy of Paris, in architecture, 

27 



SOUTH AMERICA 




ARGENTINA 

streets, sidewalks and restaurants, which cover the sidewalks 
with their customers chairs. The Palermo Park is much like 
Bois De Bologne of Paris. The population of the city is a 
million and a quarter, mostly Spanish and Italians, and the 
Spanish language is generally spoken. The city is claimed 
to be the most wealthy per capita in the world. Buenos 
Aires is situated on a flat plain and has a great harbor. The 
dock extending for miles along the river front. Being the 
capital of Argentina, and a great seaport, nearly all the 
commerce of the Republic centers here. They are now build- 
ing an underground or subway for street car lines, and a 
great many other improvements are going on. Regarding this 
river harbor or dock, there are now twenty-seven miles of 
stone built docks, costing the enormous sum of forty-seven 
million dollars, affording the greatest convenience for re- 
ceiving and discharging cargo, and yet there is not room 
enough for this large water traffic. Steamers sometimes are 
compelled to anchor out in the stream for over a month, be- 
fore they can get an opportunity to come alongside of the 
dock. We saw a dozen large steamers anchored mid-stream 
as we came in. Warehouses are continuous along these docks, 
and more are now being built. There is one wool warehouse 
which has had fifty-seven million pounds of wool on storage 
at one time. The La Plata is not very deep, and the harbor 
authorities have marked with buoys (which bear a light at 
night), a channel all the way to the ocean. As the river water 
is so loaded with sand and mud, a great many dregde boats 
are kept constantly at work dredging the channel. We called 
at the La Prenza, the greatest newspaper building in the 
world, built by the La Prenza Newspaper Company, and oc- 
cupied by them as a printing house. This great company 
have almost a city inside of their beautiful buildings. There 
is a concert hall, which looks much like the banquet hall in 
the Windsor Castle, England, and is finished elaborately; 
also a royal suite of rooms, consisting of a banquet hall, smok- 

29 



SOUTH AMERICA 




ARGENTINA 

ing hall, ladies' reception room, library and ladies' boudoir, 
all very large and fitted out in truly royal style. In fact, 
we have not seen finer furnished or finished rooms in any 
of the palaces of Europe. These handsome apartments are 
simply in readiness to entertain royalty, or persons of renown. 
They tell us that the last United Stater, or "North American" 
who was entertained here was the famous, or infamous Dr. 
Cook, who claimed to have discovered the North Pole, and 
who now admits that perhaps he did not. There are also 
found in this great building a bank, restaurant for employees, 
a free medical dispensary, a free employment agency, and free 
law library, with lawyers in attendance, to give advice to poor 
persons, without charge, and other rooms devoted to philan- 
thropic work, besides the printing establishment of the La 
Plaza Newspaper, said to have the largest circulation of any 
newspaper in South America. There are some wide Ave- 
nidas in Buenos Aires. The most important of these is the 
Avenida de Mayo, which has the president's residence at one 
end, and the National capitol hall at the other. This great 
thoroughfare is a mile long and 150 feet wide, with a double 
row of arc lights down the middle. It is built up the entire 
length with a fine class of buildings occupied by hotels, thea- 
ters, restaurants, large department stores and office buildings. 
No heavy traffic is allowed on this Avenida, only carriages 
and automobiles, and this traffic is as heavy and continuous 
as on Fifth Avenue, New York — a continuous stream of ve- 
hicles. There is no speed limit here for automobiles ; they are 
permitted to drive as fast as they choose, and they choose a 
speed of twenty-five to thirty-five miles an hour; we wonder 
how it is that they do not have more accidents. The Avenida 
in very smooth, swept clean and an ideal place for driving, if 
the street was not so crowded. Standing at the monument 
in front of the President's mansion, we could see the entire 
length of this great street, and saw the dome of the capitol at 
the other end. The pleasure seekers here do not get really 
waked up until about nine o'clock at night, and from that 

31 



SOUTH AMERICA 




ARGENTINA 

hour until three in the morning every carriage and automobile 
is on the run, quite like Paris in this respect. We had been 
told that Buenos Aires was the most expensive city in the 
world to live in, but we did not find it so. The hotels are 
first-class, and no more expensive than New York. The car- 
riage hire is 66 cents the first hour, and 53 cents per hour 
after that. The first-class automobiles are $4.40 per hour; 
second-class $3.52 per hour. Hotels pay their waiters $22.00 
per month and board. Their chamber-maids $17.60 per 
month and board. We stopped at Cecil Hotel which is new 
and first-class, with French cooking, located on the Avenida 
de Mayo, in the best part of the city; their prices were no 
higher than for the same accommodations in New York. We 
mention this because our United States minister, Mr. Sherill, 
has recently made many speeches in the United States, giv- 
ing the impression that labor in Argentina is paid about twice 
as much as in our country, which is a great mistake. Labor 
here is not paid as much as in the United States. Let no man 
who is working for wages leave our country, anticipating 
higher wages here, as he will be bitterly disappointed. If a 
man is young and has no family, with good ability, and a few 
thousand dollars capital, this is a good place for him to make 
a fortune in the cattle and sheep business, provided he is will- 
ing to put up with the hard, rough and severe knocks he is 
likely to get in a new country. If he has a family, then don't 
come at all, as the customs are so different from ours, that 
the ladies have very little consideration, and every one of 
the ladies we met from the United States were homesick, 
and glad to get back on almost any terms. The side streets 
in Buenos Aires are narrow, generally only thirty feet wide. 
On these narrow streets the traffic is only permitted to travel 
in one direction, and on "Florida" street all the vehicles are 
prohibited between five and seven o'clock in the afternoon, 
and during these hours the whole street is filled with men and 
women walking. The traffic on this street is greatly con- 
gested, in fact, all the central streets are greatly overcrowded, 

33 



SOUTH AMERICA 




ARGENTINA 

and the increase which is to come must be located on other 
streets. The Colon Theater is the pride of the city, cost ten 
million dollars, one of the largest and finest theater build- 
ings in the world; the cheapest seats are 25 pesos, and the 
box seats are 70 pesos; seating capacity is 5,000. The city 
is gridironed with street railway tracks, an excellent electric 
trolley system; fare 4 4-10 cents for short rides. The stand- 
ard of money in Argentina is a pesos, which is worth here 
44 cents. Small paper bills are issued by the government 
in denominations of one, five and fifty pesos, printed on 
poor paper; we would think the country would be flooded 
with counterfeits. Their fractional currency is 100 centimes 
to the pesos; small nickel coins are five, ten and twenty 
centimes. The city has a good waterworks system, with good 
water; also a good sewage system. The streets are kept 
clean and the health of the city is excellent. The tempera- 
ture is in fact never cold; no snow or frost, but sometimes 
in summer it is hot. There are very many handsome public 
institutions, private residences and beautiful city parks, with 
palm trees and flowers. It is a beautiful city and compares 
favorably with the best cities in Europe or United States, 
and is destined to become one of the largest cities in the 
world. 

The boulevard to Palermo Park is about 200 feet wide, 
and in the afternoon is full of carriages and automobiles. 
Every conveyance in the city is pressed into service for a 
drive to this park during the fashionable driving hours. While 
we were there the people had several days of festivities, wind- 
ing up with a "masked fete." Many were driving in car- 
riages on Avenida de Mayo and Palermo Park, dressed like 
clowns, with faces covered with masks; they seem to enjoy 
this masquerading. The race-course is situated on Palermo 
Park drive, and is claimed to be the largest and best in the 
world; there are three circular tracks, each 100 feet wide. 
The grandstand where the finish of the race is made is set 
100 feet back from the track and the space between is laid 

35 



SOUTH AMERICA 




ARGENTINA 

out in flower gardens, and looks much like fairyland. The 
best seats are sold at seven Pesos, or $3.25 gold, each. The 
grandstand will seat about 50,000, and ladies do not attend 
the races. The betting is on a large scale, and there is a 
race on every half hour from three to five-thirty. All these 
are running races ; trotting races are too slow for the peo- 
ple of Argentina. There are two race days each week, the 
whole year round, Sundays and Thursdays. They have the 
best race-horses in the world, and their carriage horses are 
not excelled for style in any country. The Japanese Hippo- 
drome, or Circus, is located on this drive, and we went there 
one night. The place is an architectural copy of the old 
Roman Forum, a wonderful show place, with first-class en- 
tertainment. One day we went out to the Tigre River, and 
Parana River, about thirty miles from Buenos Aires, by rail, 
through their most beautiful suburb Belgrano. At the Tigre 
station we took small steam launches for a two-hour sail 
on the beautiful Tigre River; the scenery on this river is 
enchanting. There is a boat club here of 300 members, and 
they have built landings and bungalows along the river, which 
is usually from 100 to 200 feet wide, with banks set with 
palm and Eucalytus trees intersperced with apple, peach and 
quince trees. In many places for a long distance the banks, 
down to the water edge, are covered with quince trees; the 
fruit is fine, large, yellow and ripe. At a little hotel where 
we took lunch we sat under a grape arbor 100 feet square, 
the roof thickly matted with grape vines and leaves, and the 
great big bunches of purple ripe grapes hanging down in pro- 
fusion to tempt us. Our dessert was grapes, from the roof, 
and we enjoyed them very much. The weather was ideal, 
and we spent here one of the most pleasant days of our stay 
in Argentina. Another day our party went out twenty-five 
miles by rail to an "Estanchion," or ranch, as we call it. This 
is the show place of Argentina for live stock, horses, cat- 
tle and sheep, all of the best grades to be found in this part of 
the world. There is none too good, or too expensive for these 

37 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SODA WATER PEDDLER, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA. 



ARGENTINA 

"Estanchions." There were a great many prize animals, 
which cost the owner many thousand pesos each ; it w^as hke 
a Hve stock county fair, only more so. The animals were 
curried and combed in the neatest style, with prize ribbons 
on their horns or halters, and made a great show. This par- 
ticular "Estanchion" contains about 15,000 acres, and is owned 
by one of the richest natives in Argentina. These grounds 
have been under the care of an Italian landscape gardener for 
many years, and present the most beautiful appearance, with 
double rows of palm trees, intersperced with small lakes and 
many flowering plants ; probably it is the most beautiful stock 
farm in Argentina. There is no winter here like we have in 
our country ; very seldom a frost in this section of Argentina. 
The plant life flourishes the year round, which helps the 
landscape gardener to do what we could not accomplish in 
our climate. Also the stock on this wonderful "Estanchion" 
do not get in thin flesh on account of cold in winter, but keep 
on growing fat on grass, and become fine large bullocks of 
1000 pounds at three years of age, without any grain. In 
fact, scarcely any grain is fed to horses and cattle in this 
country. 

Argentina Raihvays — 13,250 miles cost about $850,000,000. 
That would be $64,000 per mile, which is preposterous. 

The whole of Argentina has suffered much with a 
drought which has prevailed for the last two years, but most 
severely felt during the last few months. Many cattle and 
horses have died for lack of food and water. In one sec- 
tion, that is the Southwestern Argentina, back towards the 
mountains, there has been a continuous drought for the past 
four years, and the cattle have mostly been driven out or 
died, and the sheep are having a very bad chance to get 
enough to keep them alive. The locusts, in this dry part of 
Argentina are a great pest, and come in such swarms that 
they devour what little grass is left. The wheat crop this 
year was hot more than an average half crop. Fortunately, 
the country has in the last few days been visited with a great 

39 



SOUTH AMERICA 




m 

O 

H 

m 

<1 

w 

o 

H 
CQ 

a 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




O 

H 
P 

m 
Pi 

H 
O 

pi' 

H 

> 

s 

H 
Pi 
O 



ARGENTINA 

big general rain, which extended nearly over the whole of 
Argentina, and the wheat land is now in condition to plow, 
but the horses are too thin and weak to work, as they do not 
feed their farm horses grain, but make them live simply by 
grazing. As there had been no rain for a long time, there 
was scarcely any grass, but since the rains this month, the 
grass is now growing, and in three or four weeks the horses 
will be in condition to work on the plows again. In the 
meantime, the farmers, many of them, are trying to find gaso- 
line engines to do their plowing by power. These large level 
wheat fields can be plowed by gasoline engines very conven- 
iently. We met a salesman for the International Harvester 
Company, of Chicago, who has been here for four years, 
selling harvesters, and he reports that, on account of the 
drought he has not sold more than half the usual number of 
harvesters, and now he can sell more gasoline engines than 
he can get. In some sections where they had local rains their 
wheat crop was fairly good, but in many places the crop was 
an entire failure the past season. The United States sell 
most of the harvesting machines, sewing machines, typewrit- 
ing machines and gasoline engines that are used here. The 
greater part of Argentina is still a grazing land, all that part 
adjacent, or lying near the Andes mountains, gets too little 
rain to be worth much for agricultural purposes; really not 
worth very much for grazing. Some parts of it even gets too 
little rain to produce any grass. Along the Atlantic coast for 
150 or 200 miles the rains are usually quite regular, and in 
this part of Argentina wheat, corn, oats, rye and flax, and 
all that class of crops are raised, where the rains are reason- 
ably regular. Further back than that the rains are more ir- 
regular; the farther west we go, the thinner the rainfall is, 
and the poorer the grass becomes. The price of ordinary 
draft horses here is $35 to $45, and fat steers are today 
quoted in the Buenos Aires market at $20 gold, per head; 
cows $12 to $15. Quite recently, just before the rains of this 
month, grazing- stock could be bought for almost any price, 

43 



SOUTH AMERICA 




THE ANDES 

but the conditions are now looking much better. We were 
told that an Italian came to Buenos Aires about two months 
ago, with a good lot of money, and found the prices of live 
stock on the western ranges so very cheap that he bought a 
large amount, although they were dying at the time, and it 
was supposed they were almost worthless. Since then, the 
fine rains have come, and the value of the cattle has increased 
many fold, and the conditions now are looking very much 
more cheerful. At present grazing lands are said to be cheap 
here, but we have been unable to get definite information as 
to values. Farm labor is paid about $22 per month. Cattle 
herders $30 per month, gold, and freight rates to Europe are 
very much cheaper than from United States. Also the rail- 
way haul on wheat is short, as the wheat land now under 
cultivation is along the Atlantic coast. With average seasons 
there should be profit in wheat raising here, if the price of 
land is not too high. 



ACROSS THE ANDES. 

We left Buenos Aires for a trip across the continent of 
South America on February i6th, 191 1, over the Buenos 
Aires and Pacific Railway. This is the most extraordinary 
railway we have ever seen — 5 feet 6 inch gauge, well built 
with a good equipment, and does a very large business, both 
in freight and passengers. For four hundred miles out of 
Buenos Aires, going west, there is not a cut, a fill or a bridge 
worth mentioning, and in one section the road is perfectly 
straight for 175 miles. This road runs through the largest, 
level plain, or pampas, we have ever seen. For about 200 
miles the land is under cultivation, mostly wheat raising. 
After that the wheat fields grow less, by degrees, and the 
country is given over to pasturage and is literally covered 

45 



SOUTH AMERICA 




THE ANDES 

with horses, cattle, sheep and ostriches. We have never seen 
such great numbers of animals, 10,000 in sight on every side. 
They are now doing well, and will soon be fat, if the favor- 
able rains continue. As before stated, there are no rivers 
or streams to bridge, but occasionally a small lake or marsh, 
which serves to hold water for the stock. There are a great 
many windmills all over this plain, for pumping water from 
wells. The horses on this Pampas are generally of a small 
and inferior quality, but the cattle are well graded stock, 
many of them Durhams, Herefords, and other good grades, 
for beef. The sheep are also of good quality, but we could 
not state regarding the ostriches, whether they were the best 
grades or otherwise. They are great big birds and graze 
quietly along with the horses and cattle. There are enough 
ostriches on this Pampas to furnish every woman in Argentina 
with a fine plume, and leave a great surplus to export. To 
our surprise in this stock-raising section, there is scarcely a 
building to be seen for many miles, just a hut occasionally, 
which is occupied by the cowboys and their families. No 
buildings of any kind to protect the stock. There is not a 
wind-break for 500 miles. The wind storms which are very 
sudden and destructive are of short duration. There are many 
wire fences ; we suppose every owner has his land fenced. 
Also there are many small fields of alfalfa scattered over 
this plain, and we were told that the cattle owners are now 
making arrangements to put up hay, that they may prevent 
the starvation of their stock in times of drought. The great 
drawback to cattle raising here is the danger of loss by starva- 
tion in times of drought. If the alfalfa hay proves to be suf- 
ficient to keep the cattle alive during these occasional dry 
times, it will give a great impetus to the cattle raising in- 
dustry in this section. 

Moving along over this great Pampas by train we saw 
mirages at a little distance, of perhaps half a mile, a smooth 
placid lake appeared on the horizon. At first, we would not 
iDelieve it was simply an optical illusion, but when we passed 

47 



SOUTH AMERICA 




THE ANDES 

by several of these places, where the lake appeared to be, we 
were convinced that it was a mirage, due to the peculiarities 
of these plains. As it was our first experience of this kind, 
to us it seemed a very novel sight. We arrived at Mendoza 
the next morning, after a very unpleasant and dusty ride in 
the sleeping car. The fine pulverized dust covers the cars 
on the western section of the road near the mountains, and 
everything on the train, including ourselves, penetrating the 
mouth, nose and lungs, and it was a great relief to breathe 
fresh mountain air. The sleeping cars are quite comfortable, 
being compartment cars, with corridor on the side, and we 
were not troubled with dust during the day, as there had been 
a rain recently, which wet the dusty plain for about 500 miles 
or more west of Buenos Aires; but I awakened about eleven 
o'clock with the dust so intolerable that I felt I could not 
exist very long in the compartment. Therefore, I quietly 
dressed myself and thought I would go out into the corridor, 
supposing that the air would be better and the dust not so 
bad. I soon found my mistake, however, as the wind was 
quite strong, the cars are not tightly put together, and there 
was a regular dust storm sweeping down the corridor, which 
drove me back again into my compartment. After enduring 
this unpleasant condition for a while, I resorted to the plan 
of opening the window wide, and it so happened that the 
wind was from our side of the train and blew the dust away 
from us, so that we got along fairly comfortable, although 
this section of the road which is near the Andes mountains on 
the eastern side, receives very little rain, and some places 
none at all, and has a great reputation for being dusty. The 
City of Mendoza gets no rain at all, as the clouds in this part 
of the world come from the west, are caught by the Andes 
Mountains, and the rain precipitated on the western slope, 
but enough snozv falls on the eastern side to make water for 
irrigation.. The whole country adjacent to Mendoza is de- 
voted to the cultivation of grapes and wine making, and there 
are thousands of acres of grape vines now loaded with large 

49 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




THE ANDES 

bunches of blue grapes. The city Hes at the foot of the great 
Cordirilla range of the Ancles, 2500 feet above the sea level, 
and here we changed to a narrow railway, one meter, or three 
feet, three inch gauge, which climbs the mountains. From 
seven o'clock until three in the afternoon we were climbing 
this great mountain chain, much of the time over a cog rail, 
where the grade is too steep for plain rails. During this time 
we gradually ascended until we were 10,468 feet above the 
sea level. The rugged mountain scenery is grand beyond de- 
scription, and without vegetation of any kind. The many 
sharp peaks challenge our admiration at every turn. As there 
are no observation cars on this road we sat on the rear plat- 
form most of the way with our camera, and ready for a shot 
when something might open up more beautiful than the aver- 
age. Really, there is not a mile of this whole mountain climb- 
ing which would not make a beautiful picture. Just before 
we reached the tunnel we had a sight of old Anconcagua, the 
highest mountain peak in this hemisphere, between 23,000 
and 24,000 feet. It seemed to be not more than a mile dist- 
ant and covered with everlasting snow — it is sublime. We 
entered the Andes tunnel, which is about two miles long, at 
three o'clock, and were out in the sunshine of Chile in nine 
minutes; this tunnel penerates the mountains 2,000 feet below 
the summit. We would rather have climbed over the summit 
on mule back, or by stage, but since the completion of the 
tunnel, the stages have been taken off, and there are but few 
mules to be had. Also, it is reported that there are brigands 
on this trail now, who will rob, and if necessary, kill the trav- 
eler unless they are well armed, and in parties large enough 
to bluff the would-be robbers. The government of Argen- 
tina furnished an armed escort for our train from Mendoza 
to the tunnel, and the government of Chile furnished an armed 
escort from the tunnel down to Los Andes. So far as we 
could see, there was no necessity of this armed escort, but 
the two governments probably know more about what is 
needed here than we do. The statute of "Christ of the Andes" 

53 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SANTIAGO 

is located at the highest point on this pass, marking the boun- 
dary between Argentina and Chile. The descent on the Chil- 
ian side of the mountains is more grand and awe inspiring, 
if possible, than the ascent on the eastern side. The inclines 
are steeper and more continuous. We dropped down 8000 
feet to Los Andes in less than three hours, and by midnight 
we were comfortably housed in the Grand Hotel at Santiago, 
Chile. 



SANTIAGO 

This is the capitol of Chile — population 350,000; a beau- 
tiful city, lying 1,800 feet above the sea level, between the 
Cordirilla and the coast range. The climate is delightful 
on the average, and the streets present a good appearance, 
some of them are wide Avenidas, and the many handsome 
public buildings give the city more than ordinarily a fine ap- 
pearance. By chance we met Dr. W. E. Browning on the 
street; a native Missourian, educated at Parkville College, 
forty miles from our home in St. Joseph, Missouri. We had 
never heard of him, and the accidental meeting goes to show 
how small our Avorld is, as we meet Missourians in all parts 
of the earth. Dr. Browning is president of the English Col- 
lege for Boys, in Santiago, and has 250 boys in his college. 
He has been here for fifteen years, and speaks the Spanish 
language more correctly than the native Chilian. He is a de- 
lightfully pleasant gentleman in every way, and was kind 
enough to personally show us the sights of the city. The 
drive through the Agricultural Experimental Park was inter- 
esting, as Chile is experimenting with trees, grains, vegetables 
and flowers that they may learn of all that is adapted to their 
soil and climate. We called at the Academy of Fine Arts, 
which is a handsome large building, set in a beautiful park; 

55 



SOUTH AMERICA 




WOMAN CONDUCTOR ON STREET CAR, SANTIAGO, CHILE. 



SOUTH AMERICA 




s 

O 

d 

;^ 

o 

CO 

H 

CO 



SOUTH AMERICA 




USUAL DRESS AND HEAD COVERING WHILE SHOPPING 
OR GOING TO CHURCH, SANTIAGO, CHILE. 



SANTIAGO 

also we visited the Catholic cemetery and the general ceme- 
tery, both are a credit to the city and nation, and very beau- 
tiful. We noticed a man carrying in his anus a dead infant, 
the face was exposed to the gaze of all passers by, and to 
the rays of a very hot sun. Dr. Browning explained that this 
was the custom here, to carry the bodies of their dead infants 
tnrough the streets and into the houses of their acquaintances, 
as by so doing they gain merit, supposedly carrying a little 
angel through the street; to us it seems a revolting custom. 
The most important thing to see in Santiago is the Santa 
Lucia Park, situated in the central part of the city. In this 
park is a rock 200 feet high. About half way up is a Plaza 
where the people of the city congregate in the evening to 
listen to the public bands of music which play here every 
evening, and on the top of the rock is a platform to view the 
surrounding city, and the setting sun, which is a beautiful 
sight from this elevated place. There is an extensive electric 
trolley system in Santiago ; their power to run the cars comes 
from the Maipo river, where a great water-power electric 
generating plant has been erected, costing three million dol- 
lars, gold, furnishing 4,000 horse power, enough to run all the 
street car lines and electric lighting in Santiago. We notice 
that the conductors on these street railways are women; they 
are not much for style or beauty, but do the work satisfac- 
torily. If the trolley jumps off the wire, they are adapt in 
putting it back in place; they do not have as many pockets as 
men, and therefore do not knock down as much. The Grand 
Hotel at Santiago is managed by a woman, and she is well 
qualified for the business, handles all the money, directs all 
the help; she keeps an excellent hotel, judged from the Span- 
ish viewpoint, at any rate, we found it more satisfactory than 
we had anticipated. General O'Higgins, an Irishman, was 
the first president of Chile, and was an important factor in 
establishing the independence of his adopted country. His 
bronze statue stands on the Alameda, and his grave in the 
general cemetery is marked by a handsome monument. 

59 



SOUTH AMERICA 




VALPARAISO. 



One morning we went by train from Santiago through 
a delightful scenic valley to Valparaiso, the most important 
shipping point on the western coast of South America. This 
city has a population of 200,000, and a good harbor, when 
the weather is fair, but a very poor place for shipping in a 
storm, as the entrance is so wide that the sea sometimes 
rolls in tremendously and many vessels have in times past 
been driven ashore. Valparaiso has now made arrangements 
to build a breakwater 1200 feet long across part of the har- 
bor entrance, which will no doubt be a great security for 
shipping. We noticed that our captain was alert enough to 
anchor the Blucher near the entrance, with her bow towards 
the sea. This harbor is a very busy place, filled with steam- 
ers and sailing vessels from every important port on the globe. 
It is sometimes called the San Francisco of South America. 
The docks for two miles are loaded with all kinds of mer- 
chandise, machinery and produce, stacked without cover, as 
there is no rain expected at this season of the year. Arrange- 
ments have been made to build two loading docks, then large 
steamers may come alongside to discharge cargo. The har- 
bor is situated like an amphitheater; the stage side is the 
ocean entrance, the harbor is the parquette, and the hills ris- 
ing all around the bay are the seats for the audience. The 
city is unique, in lying around the harbor, the hills rising about 
two hundred or three hundred feet; the business houses are 
located near the water, and the residences on the hills. There 
are many elevators, called "Ascensions," which lift the pedes- 
trian to the higher level ; fare equal to two cents in our money. 
Viewed from our ship at night, the rows of lights on the hills 
around the harbor make the scene look like fairyland. The 
Chilians have a queer way of tying or hitching a horse, when 
they leave him for a few minutes on the street ; they strap the 
horse's forelegs together, or hobble him, and the animal seems 
to think it is a good plan, and stands quite contentedly. We 

61 



SOUTH AMERICA 




VALPARAISO 

had the extreme good fortune to meet here Dr. John Trumbull 
and his interesting family, wife and two daughters. The 
great grandfather of Dr. Trumbull was Jonothan Trumbull, 
the Governor of Connecticut under King George, and the 
first Governor of Connecticut under the United States. He 
was a friend and advisor of George Washington, and by 
Washington was generally spoken of as "Brother Jonothan." 
The father of Dr. Trumbull was one of the first missionaries 
from the United States to Chile, and became a naturalized 
citizen of Chile, that he might have more influence with the 
Chilian congress in getting necessary laws passed, and was 
instrumental in getting the marriage laws of Chile passed; 
also in getting a charter from the Chilian government whereby 
the mission may buy and own land for their church and school 
purposes. Dr. John Trumbull is a native of Chile, but was 
educated at Yale, in the same class with President Taft. He 
is a man of very superior ability, and gave us much informa- 
tion regarding Chile. We were invited to their beautiful 
home for breakfast and enjoyed meeting their family, after 
which Mrs. Trumbull escorted us to the most beautiful suburbs 
of the city, "Vina Del Mar," several miles out. The most 
beautiful residences in Chile are here, also a great race track, 
polo grounds, baseball, cricket and foot ball, and a very beau- 
tiful surf bathing beach ; the Chilians are not behind in races or 
sports. From Dr. Trumbull we had a description of the ter- 
rible earthquake, "Terramoto," which occurred in Valparaiso 
in 1906, by which 7000 lives were lost, and millions of dollars 
worth of property destroyed. 

The loss of life here was ten times as great as the two 
earthquakes which occurred at San Francisco and Kingston 
combined. The property damages have been mostly repaired. 
They still have quakes at short intervals, but not of import- 
ance. Two weeks ago there was a good strong quake at San- 
tiago, but did very little damage. In 1833, Valparaiso was 
destroyed by an earthquake, and the city has at other times 
been severely shaken, with loss of life and property. When this 

63 



SOUTH AMERICA 




VALPARAISO 

1906 quake began, the Trumbulls were at dinner at 8 p. m. ; the 
quake lasted severely for five minutes. Almost immediately 
the chandelier dropped on the table, and the dishes were 
thrown off. The mantel-piece fell into the center of the room 
with a crash, all electric and gas lights went out, leaving them 
in total darkness, with pictures falling from the walls, plas- 
tering, ceiling and floors falling. A large telephone pole two 
feet thick, which carried a great number of wires, and stood 
in front of their house, fell across the roof, knocking in one 
wall and a part of the roof, but there was such a din and 
roaring going on around them that they did not hear or feel 
the fall of the telephone pole. Fortunately none of their fam- 
ily were injured, but they camped in the street for that night, 
although it was raining. After the first great shock the earth 
continued to quiver with occasionally a hard shake for forty- 
eight hours, and during that time very little could be done 
by any one to relieve the injured and dying. Strange as it 
may seem to us, these people cling to their hill homes just 
the same as if they never had an earthquake. Last year the 
statistics show that Valparaiso lost over 4,000 by death from 
smallpox, and there is an epidemic now, of smallpox, but 
Dr. Trumbull said he thought it was diminishing. 

Chile is nearly 3,000 miles long, averaging about 100 
miles wide, extending from the tropics nearly to the Ant- 
arctic zone. The population of Chile is three million, princi- 
pally Spanish, with a good mixture of Indians. About 3,000 
educated politicians rule Chile. The great mass of the people 
are illiterate. While education is free, there are almost no 
schools outside of the cities. Chile raises nearly every kind 
of vegetables, fruit and flowers, also all animals that we 
have, and many more. The country is rich in minerals, and 
opportunities to make fortunes in developing the country are 
open to all who make an effort in good faith, and the country 
is opening up wonderfully fast; the land titles are now good 
and property safe; great fortunes, have been made here by 
Germans, English, and a few Americans. W. R. Grace, form- 

65 



SOUTH AMERICA 




w 

o 
6 
< 

K 
o 
<J 
H 
pq 

O 

I— I 

H 

m 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




> 



VALPARAISO 

erly Mayor of New York, is at the head of W. R. Grace & 
Co., the largest bankers and commission firm in Chile. Not- 
withstanding the great opportunities offered here, we think 
there are greater opportunities in our own fair land, and 
would not recommend our countrymen to come here to invest. 

On leaving Valparaiso we steamed down the western 
coast of South America for three days. Our course lay almost 
due south, and not far off land; every day we saw large isl- 
ands lying near the coast along the lower part of South 
America; they are generally mountainous and bleak in ap- 
pearance, from our ship. This part of the southern Pacific 
ocean is usually rough, as the wind from the west has an 
unobstructive sweep for 20,000 miles, all the way round the 
globe, as there is no other land on earth in this latitude, and 
we had the ordinary heavy sea. We thought of the great 
navigator, Captain Cook, who sailed across this, the widest 
ocean on earth, over 100 years ago, in a small sail craft, and 
discovered nearly all the islands of the Pacific. Such a tre- 
mendous long sail, without sight of land in an unknown ocean, 
against head winds in heavy seas, must have taxed his nerv- 
ous system, as well as his skill as a navigator. Conditions 
are very different now, when nearly every island on the face 
of the globe is marked on a chart, and most of them support 
a lighthouse, and all the best steamers supplied with charts 
and wireless telegraph, so we can almost all the time, talk 
with the land wireless system and tell them of our distress, 
if we have any. 



69 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




MAGELLAN STRAIT. 



Early in the morning of the fourth day out we sighted 
the "Three Sisters," on our port bow, and very shortly after 
"Cape Pillar," on the starboard, the captain passed the word 
that we were entering the Magellan Strait. As we had been 
anticipating the call, we were soon on deck with our camera 
ready for shooting. This strait, which is very crooked, is 
really a deep crack across the Andes mountain chain, near 
the lower end of the continent of South America. To the 
south of the strait lies the island of "Terre-del-Fuego," or the 
"Cold Land of Fire," and "Cape Horn" is on the extreme 
southern end of the island, about 120 miles south. Steam- 
ers now prefer to pass through this strait, as it cuts off over 
100 miles distance, but sailing vessels prefer the route "Around 
the Horn." The Magellan strait is much like a big river in 
appearance; it is as deep as the sea, from 600 to 6000 feet, 
and has a heavy current of water running through it from 
the Pacific ocean. The scenery on both sides was grand and 
interesting beyond description, and it continued for every 
moment, from "early morn, to dewy eve." By many, it is 
said to be better than the Fjords of Norway. At any rate 
it is the grandest we have ever seen. The snow capped 
mountains rise on both sides of the strait thousands of feet. 
In many places the ice glaciers can be seen, and in three 
places these glaciers come down to the water's edge, and grad- 
ually slide into the channel. It looked wonderful to us, to see 
a stream of solid ice many feet thick, and half a mile wide, 
extending from near the top of some great mountain, thou- 
sonds of feet high, down to the water, always sliding. They 
have perhaps been a thousand years in forming, and every 
year adds as much ice and snow on top as it loses at the bot- 
tom, thus making it automatic, a self-propelling stream, which 

7Z 



SOUTH AMERICA 




PUNTA ARENAS. 

will continue as long as the world stands. This is the 26th 
day of February, one of the last days of summer here, cor- 
responding with the last days of August in our latitude, and 
this ice and snow now in sight will be mostly carried over until 
another year, and who can tell how many years yet to come. 
We had a whole day of this grandest of scenery. Although 
we took breakfast and lunch, we begrudged the time so 
spent, and shall recall the day with the greatest of pleasure 
all our lives. 



PUNTA ARENAS 

We anchored at Punta Arenas about nine o'clock at 
night, and the next morning, early, took small boats and 
went ashore for a few hours to visit this little city of 12,000 
population. It is unique in many respects, being situated 
on the extreme southern end of the continent of South 
America, and the most southerly city in the world. As this 
is their summer, the little city is at its best now, and the flow- 
ers are in bloom; really the place looks better than we had 
anticipated. There are some good residences, and a few sub- 
stantial business buildings, and some others being built; but 
there are many of the poor people living in houses built of 
corrugated iron, and on the whole the place has a rather deso- 
late appearance. There is not much competition with neigh- 
boring cities, as the nearest city of importance is about 1,500 
miles distant. This is the only stopping place in this part of 
the world for ships, and a coaling station is maintained here. 
Fortunately, there is a coal mine back in the mountains a few 
miles, and a small railroad is built to bring the coal down. 
There is a good pier, built several hundred feet out in the 
channel, where small ships may receive and discharge cargo, 
but ships of ordinary size must anchor a short distance out. 

75 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




< 
Ph S 

<J 5-1 

PL, m 
^"§ 

oS 

Ph '^ 

^ a 

m 
H g 

^;. 
Qffi 

DQ 
H 

P:i 



PUNTA ARENAS 

The temperature in Punta Arenas is 60 degrees today, Feb- 
ruary 27th, 191 1, and it seldom gets higher, but in the winter 
it is frequently 10 degrees below zero, with much snow. We 
went star-gazing last night, and the "Southern Cross" is al- 
most directly overhead^; the stars seem brighter here than we 
have seen them. The "Milky Way" is very bright, and ex- 
tends entirely across the sky, from the horizon on the north, 
to the horizon on the south, and Jupiter looks as large as a 
baseball. The moon lies far to the north, and its crescent is 
open to the north. Those who live always in the north lati- 
tudes have only seen the moon's crescent open towards the 
south. The sun at mid-day lies away to the north. Summer 
here is winter in our northern home — everything, seasons, 
sun, moon and stars are turned around ; we cannot get accus- 
tomed to it' The chief industry in this part of the world is 
sheep raising, and some large fortunes have been made in this 
business. There is good grass in the small valleys between 
the mountains and on the lower mountain sides, so that the 
sheep live by grazing all the year round. The quality of these 
flocks is the best; the wool and mutton high grade. This 
wool is shipped in bales, and the mutton may be delivered in 
frozen carcass to any part of Europe in the best condition. 
On leaving Punta Arenas we had several hours of sailing 
before getting out of the strait and into the Atlantic ocean. 
On this part of the strait the country is very flat and low, 
almost on a level with the sea, but there is some grass grow- 
ing on these low lands, and there are large cattle and sheep 
ranches on them. At several places along this eastern coast 
there are abattoirs, or slaughter houses, where the cattle and 
sheep are made ready for the market, and shipped almost di- 
rect from the pasture to Europe — no expense for railway. 
These growers of wool, mutton and beef can undersell the 
American product, and still make a large profit, but their meat 
cannot be as good quality as our corn-fed animals. The fish 
in these cold southern waters are excellent. We ate "Sea- 
Spiders," and their meat was better than lobster. They are 

79 



SOUTH AMERICA 




d 

I— I 

1-5 
O 

<1 

O 

<J 

Q 

I— I 

<1 



RIO JANEIRO 

something like the lobster, and evidently of the lobster family, 
but are more hideous and repulsive in appearance, similar to 
a great big spider that would weigh fifteen pounds. This 
morning we saw four large whales playing in the sea, not far 
from our steamer, and we have seen a few seals. There are 
plenty of sealskins for sale in Punta Arenas, but the United 
States customs prohibits their entry, we did not purchase. 
This is the home of the albatross, but we did not see any, as it 
is probably their hatching season, and they are nesting on 
shore. 



RIO JANEIRO 

On the morning of March nth, 191 1, we were called 
early to see the entrance of the harbor of Rio Janeiro. It 
is called in this part of the world "Reo." As we had so 
often been told of this beautiful harbor, we made haste to 
go on the hurricane deck to view the scene. The sun was 
just rising, and throwing a hazy mellow light over the sea, 
and the mountain cliff. We were soon at the "Entrada," 
which is guarded by two granite mountains, one on each side. 
These mountains, 1200 to 1500 feet high, are so rugged 
and steep that no vegetation can grow on them, and form a 
natural defense to the entrance of the harbor. The channel 
through which we entered is one mile wide, water very deep. 
On either side are many big guns ready to call a halt on any 
craft that is not satisfactory to Brazil. As our mission was 
entirely peaceful we entered without challenge, and passed 
near the two largest Brazilian battleships which were lying 
just inside the harbor, and we were soon at anchor in the 
central part of this great port. We took a launch for transfer 
from our ship to the shore. On the way we sailed past the 
army barracks which were bombarded by the sailors of the 



SOUTH AMERICA 




RIO JANEIRO 

two large battleships heretofore mentioned, which re- 
volted quite recently, killed one of their captains, and sent 
all the other officers ashore, and then demanded that the 
Brazilian congress, which was at that time in session, should 
pass laws giving them, the sailors, better wages, better treat- 
ment by the officers, shorter hours, and grant them amnesty 
for their revolt. The Brazilian government was facing a 
dilemma, as these two large battleships had just been bought 
at a cost of ten million dollars, gold. They could not afford 
to turn their forts on these warships and sink them, in order 
to subdue the revolutionists, and they did not feel they could 
grant amnesty to these revolutionary sailors; they naturally 
hesitated. In order to make the congress realize that they 
must act quickly, these two warships opened fire on the city, 
dropping several shells in the densly populated part of Rio Ja- 
neiro. These did no great damage, although uncomfortable 
for the residents. Next day they turned their guns on the 
barracks, which were occupied by thousands of soldiers, and 
located along the shore at an elevation of about fifty feet 
above the waters of the harbor. In passing from our steamer 
to our landing place the "Quay Pharoux" we were quite close 
to these barracks. We counted the cannon ball holes made 
in the walls. The first barrack had twenty cannon holes; 
the second thirty holes, and the third thirty holes in each build- 
ing, and several in the water tank, making in all over eighty 
cannon balls, which took effect or went through the walls of 
these buildings. As the government could not afford to let 
the army or navy fire on these new warships, the soldiers did 
not have an opportunity to defend themselves, and must have 
beat a hasty retreat. Then the government passed a law 
granting amnesty to these revolting sailors, as well as all 
their other demands. AVhen this was done the revolutionists 
turned the battleships over to the government and surrendered. 
We asked what had become of these "revolutionary sailors," 
as this revolt occurred about three months ago, and were 

83 



SOUTH AMERICA 




1-^ 9 



K M 



§: 
^^ 

M a 

r, (D 

Q 2 

^■£ 

I— I S-i 

> eS 



RIO JANEIRO 

told "they have disappeared." It was intimated that they had 
been put to death; whether this last statement is true we have 
no means of ascertaining, but if it is true, and the government 
did not comply with its part of the agreement, as to amnesty, 
then the Brazilian government is not of much higher order 
of integrity than its disloyal sailors. 

Immediately on reaching the quay we hired an automo- 
bile and started for a sight-seeing drive about the city. We 
first drove to the "Avenida Central," which is a fine large 
boulevard about 150 feet wide and one and a quarter miles 
long, through the center of the city, with a row of electric 
lights and trees down the center; at one end of this famous 
street stands the "Monroe Palace," which was built at the St. 
Louis Exposition, and afterwards removed to its present loca- 
tion. It is one of the handsomest buildings in Rio, and is 
pointed to with great pride by the natives. The other end of 
this great Avenida terminates at the new city quay, now 
being built at an expense of 45 million dollars, gold. This street, 
or Avenida is called "the eleven million dollar boulevard," per- 
haps because that was the cost of the many fine buildings situ- 
ated upon it. From there we drove down the "Avenida Biera 
Mar," a wide pleasure drive along the shore. This fashion- 
able drive has a double roadway for automobiles, each about 
fifty feet wide, so that machines going in one direction have 
all their road to themselves. These streets are so hard and 
smooth that they are nearly perfect. Alongside this double 
automobile drive is a third driveway for the use of carriages, 
wagons and street cars, all three with grass plats and flower 
beds between them are about 200 feet wide. They curve 
around the bay in a circular way which is most charming. Along 
the greater part of this drive is a beautiful park, and beyond 
that, on the mountain side, are many handsome residences. 
Part of the way the mountain rises beside the driveway with 
the most beautiful homes built upon its sides, some of them at 
a little elevation, and some at a great elevation, shaded by 
tall royal palm trees. With this scene on one side, and the 

85 



SOUTH AMERICA 




RIO JANEIRO 

bay on the other, the drive is most dehg-htful. At the lower 
end of this drive the roadway cuts under the mountain in a 
wide tunnel, and emerges on the sea shore at a surf bathine 
resort. There is quite a little city along the sea shore, separ- 
ated from Rio by the mountain, and on account of the tunnel, 
which has recently been completed, is rapidly building up. 
A street car line makes the trip to and from the city from this 
point quite easy. After driving along this seaside resort 
for half an hour or more, our automobile exploded a tire, 
although we had a chaffeur and an assistant, they were not 
well experienced in replacing a bursted tire, and it was evident 
that too much of our valuable time would be lost if we waited 
for them to make the repair. The sun was hot, and accord- 
ingly we left the automobile and continued our trip via street 
car line. There are not many horses in Rio, nearly all the 
carriage teams are mules, many of them make excellent and 
handsome pleasure driving teams, and they move along at a 
rapid gait. On returning to Rio we immediately went out to 
the International Hotel for lunch. This hotel is looo feet 
above the city. To get there we took a street car that climbed 
the side of the mountains. In a few minutes we were run- 
ning along a stone arch-way, built 300 years ago, as an aque- 
duct to bring the water down from the mountains for the 
city. This structure is 100 feet high, and still strong enough 
to carry a street car line, in addition to the waterway. We 
had a great view from this point over the city, and our road 
was continually climbing and winding around the mountain, 
here and there giving us a delightful view of the city far 
below. There are many beautiful residences built along this 
road, on the mountain side, some of them have the appear- 
ance of having been built a great many years ago, as the beau- 
tiful tall royal palm trees, which are of slow growth, are 
planted in long avenues and often 100 feet high. The Inter- 
national Hotel is beautifully situated and it is a delightful trip 
of half an hour from the central part of Rio. The manager 
and all the employees speak Portuguese; as our Portuguese 

87 



SOUTH AMERICA 




RIO JANEIRO 

was not up-to-date, it required some diplomacy to get what 
we wanted for lunch, but we did it after some effort, and it, 
the lunch, was very good. After lunch we went further up 
the mountains, to Sylvester, where we changed to the "Rack- 
Road," which is simply a cog rail in the middle of the track, 
and went up to the top of the mountain, "Corcovada." On 
the way there is a precipice, or drop, of 2,000 feet. It is only 
four or five feet from the track to the edge, the road being 
cut into the side of the rock, and very steep at this point, 
at least twenty-five per cent incline. While we were pushing up 
this part of the ascent our trolley slipped off the wire and we 
dropped back about fifteen feet before the automatic clutch 
stopped us. In the slip back the trolley pole raised up and 
caught across the iron rod which is built to carry the trolley 
wire. This put the train, consisting- of one motor car and one 
passeng'er car, in a bad fix, as they could not move up, and 
to release the automatic clutch might have thrown us over the 
precipice. After consultation it was decided to hold our grip 
and telephone to Rio for another motor to come to our release. 
This was done and it took just one hour to get the motor to 
us, and during this time we were hanging there on the brink 
of the precipice. Of course, the view was grand and awe in- 
spiring, but some of the passengers did not like the situation 
and climbed out of the car, finishing the ascent on foot, al- 
though the climb was long and steep, and the sun very hot at 
that hour, three p. m. The extreme top of Corcovada is 2,500 
feet high, and on this point is built an iron cupola called "Cor- 
covada's Umbrella," with side walls to prevent accidents. Al- 
though it is laborious to get to this peak, as one must climb 
almost straight up for about 200 feet after leaving the rail- 
way, yet the result amply pays for the labor. The sky was 
perfectly clear and the panorama was the finest we have ever 
seen, or expect to see in the future. The city lies far below 
us, almost under us. From this elevation we have a view 
similar to that of looking down from a balloon. We could 
not distinguish individuals walking on the street below, and 

89 



SOUTH AMERICA 




RIO JANEIRO 

street cars in the city look no more than an inch long. The 
majestic mountain peaks around us were lower than we, ex- 
cept Tujuca, which was above us, as it is 4,000 feet high. 
After enjoying the enchanting scene for a while, we descended, 
stopping at a beautiful mountain side resort, "Paineiras," 
for a short time, and then sliding down the "Rack Rail" to 
Rio, and through the city by tram car for three miles past 
many delightful homes, built in private parks with the very 
best arrangements for keeping cool, as Rio is a hot climate. 
We were so pleased with Corcovada that we went to the top 
again and enjoyed every moment of the trip. There is a 
fairly good hotel at "Paineiras," about 500 feet below the 
top of the mountain, which has a fine shady walk, with a 
great view over the mountain side to the valley 2,000 feet be- 
low. Here the famous aqueduct begins, which carries the 
sparkling cool mountain water to Rio. It was built 300 years 
ago, of concrete and stone, and is still giving good service. 
For the first part, it is an open trough, carrying a stream 
of clear water, but a little further down where the volume of 
water is greater, it is covered over. This stone aqueduct is 
usually from six to twelve feet high, and about half as wide, 
and much of it is moss covered. It winds around the moun- 
tain side until it finally gets down to the city, and the last 
200 feet is carried over the high stone arches heretofore men- 
tioned, which also serve to carry the street cars at this time. 
This water line is probably twenty miles long, and to build 
it now would be a tremendous undertaking. How much 
greater was the effort when it was built. One beautiful morn- 
ing, in company with an educated native Brazilian, who had 
spent several years in Europe, and spoke English fluently, as 
well as several other languages, we set out in a new Damlier 
automobile for a trip to Tujuca, the highest mountain peak 
in the vicinity of Rio, being 4,000 feet, and very abrupt. The 
road is fairly well graded, and macadamized and has endless 
numbers of curves, in fact, we were always on a curve. As 
soon as we had rounded one curve, another would begin, 

91 



SOUTH AMERICA 




RIO JANEIRO 

and in one place the turn was so sharp that our automobile 
was compelled to stop and back a few feet to make the turn; 
as this' was near a high precipice, and not a sign of a railing 
to prevent backing off, the lady in our automobile immediately 
decided she would get out. In fact, a great many of the curves 
were on the brink of tremendous declivities, with our machine 
going at a speed of from twenty-five to thirty-five miles an 
hour, and not being accustomed to such dangerous roads, we 
did not feel at all safe. 

It was well that we had our native speaking Brazilian 
along with us, as we, through him, were continually demand- 
ing that the chaffeur go slower, which seemed almost unreal 
to the chaffeur, as they usually go at a break-neck speed at all 
times, around sharp curves almost the same as over straight 
roads. We drove from the quay to the waterfall, more than 
half way to the top of the mountains in forty-five minutes, 
such rapid driving on such mountain climbing was hard on the 
new machine, as it was the first trip it had ever made. The 
momentary stop probably saved us from an accident, as we 
felt the tires and found them very hot, and the water in the 
radiator was boiling; when the chaffeur undertook to remove 
the cap to put in -more water, it blew off and scattered the 
water and steam over all of us, which caused us to evacuate 
the machine so hastily that the lady was slightly injured. 
After filling the water tank with cold water, and waiting until 
the tires were cooled off, our rapid driving chaffuer realized 
that it was necessary to go a little slower, much to our satis- 
faction. On the highest point on this drive we had a won- 
derful and grand view of the city and its surroundings, far 
below. On our drive down the mountains we stopped at a 
Grotto, formed by the rocks on the mountain side; there are 
several small caves at this place, and a beautiful stream of 
clear mountain water tumbling over the rough and rocky bed. 
A dispenser of drinks had located his place of business under 
a great rock, which forms a natural tunnel at the entrance of 
this Grotto. We spent a short time here where nature has 

93 



SOUTH AMERICA 




RIO JANEIRO 

made the place so beautiful, and then returned to our landing 
place on the water-front, having been out three hours and 
thirty minutes, and traveled seventy-five miles over the wild- 
est mountain roads and through the grandest scenery to be 
found in this land of scenic wonders. Some others who made 
this same drive the same day did not fare so well. An auto- 
mobile containing six people plunged over the cliff on one of 
the short turns; none of the party were killed, as it was not 
on a precipice, but the automobile slid down through the 
small trees and brush about seventy-five feet, and all were 
more or less bruised. The Brazilian chaffeur and police of- 
ficer were severely hurt; it may be that they died after we 
left the port, and Mr. Nickerson, of Somerville, Mass., one 
of our ship's passengers, was so seriously injured in the back 
and legs that he may be crippled for life. 

Petropolis, about thirty miles out from Rio; population 
20,000, is 3,000 feet higher than Rio; we went out there by 
rail. The road first runs through several miles of level coun- 
try, mostly covered by dense tropical jungle, occasionally the 
small house of a native family appears. This land is only a 
few miles from Rio, near the sea level, very fertile, and could 
be made a garden spot if sufficient labor was expended upon 
it. At the foot of the mountain our locomotive was exchanged 
for three "rack-road" locomotives, which pushed our small 
train of three cars about ten miles up the mountain. The 
climb was very interesting; we gave it due attention every 
moment. Some of these granite mountains are so abrupt on 
all sides that it will be impossible for any man ever to see 
the top, unless he should go up in a balloon. The town of 
Petropolis is the residence of most of the foreign ministers 
and consuls who are sent to Rio. The elevation makes the 
climate a pleasure all the year, while the tall royal palms and 
tropical vegetation grow to perfection. There is a mountain 
stream running down the middle of the streets in Petropolis, 
with a driveway on either side, and much space devoted to 
public parks, which are kept in beautiful condition. The moun- 

95 



SOUTH AMERICA 




RIO JANEIRO 

tain peaks rise 500 feet above the town on all sides. The cool 
and invigorating air makes the place an ideal spot for a resi- 
dence for a man who does not have much business and is pos- 
sessed of means enough to permit him to enjoy life where he 
prefers. The American College for Girls is located here, in one 
of the most beautiful parks in the world. Many palatial resi- 
dences situated in large grounds which have been made beauti- 
ful by nature, assisted by the landscape gardener, making this 
young city a place long to be remembered with pleasure. The 
harbor, Rio Janeiro, has long been called the most beautiful in 
the world, and it is undoubtedly entitled to that distinction ; 
we sailed around it one fine morning and can hardly say too 
much in its praise. It is about twenty miles long and three to 
five miles wide, with water deep enough to float the largest 
ships. There are many islands, those nearest the city occu- 
pied by army and navy buildings, while those farther out 
have many beautiful homes and boat clubs. The crowning 
beauty of Rio harbor is in its setting in mountain suixoundings. 
In whatever direction we look the sky line it cut up with the 
most scenic mountain peaks to be seen in any part of the 
world. The Sugar Loaf mountain, 1,500 feet high, with one 
side almost perpendicular, standing guard as a sentinel at 
the harbor entrance. The Corcovada, with its sharp peak 
2,500 feet high, surmounted by the Corcovado Umbrella and 
Tujuca, which is still taller, piercing the sky with its sharp 
peak, and many others, form a chain around this magnificent 
harbor, which for beauty in itself and surroundings is hardly 
equalled. 

The market place in Rio is well worth visiting, just to 
see the strange things they have for sale on the market in 
Brazil. It is a large market, covering at least two ordinary 
city blocks, with streets about forty feet wide, well paved, 
and no doubt washed clean with hose and water at the close 
of business every day; notwithstanding the effort to keep 
this section strictly sanitary, it had a rank and unpleasant 
odor at nine o'clock in the morning when we were there. The 

97 



SOUTH AMERICA 



. i'. 4. f 



r-*W^ . 










cS 



^ 1^ 

Co .|_;i 

S.9 

O q-i 
^ 03 



o2 

O rt 



O +J 



PI 



SOUTH AMERICA 




SOUTH AMERICA 




RIO JANEIRO 

articles for sale included the octopus, or devil fish, also many 
small rat-like animals with monkey face, called Marmosets. 
They are a species of monkey, about the size of a small kit- 
ten, and have a monkey, or human face in appearance, with 
feet shaped like human hands; they are very timid, and will 
nestle in your pocket if you give them an opportunity. There 
was also a fine assortment of larger monkeys, about a foot tall, 
like those carried around in America by the organ grinder. 
All these are natives of Brazil, and are found in the jungles 
in this section ; there were also many kinds of birds with bright 
plumage, including most beautiful parrots, as well as a great 
variety of everything that can be used for food. 

The light and power company of Rio Janeiro, owned by 
United States and . Canadian stockholders, have a large and 
valuable property here. They own all the street railways in 
the city and have covered the principal streets with their 
tracks, except those Avenidas that are reserved entirely for 
carriages and automobiles. They also control the car lines 
to the nearby mountain resorts, furnish all the electric lights 
in this city, and own the city gas light plant. They charge 
200 Reis, equaled to seven cents, for a short ride. If you go 
a little farther, they charge 400 Reis, and if still a little 
farther, they charge 800 Reis, so that some of the long rides 
cost from 64 to 96 cents, gold. They are continually adding 
to their lines, and are now putting up a large office building 
for their own use. All their power is made by water power 
several miles out in the mountains, and they have more than 
twice the power that is now in use. While their ordinary 
labor is the native help, and a few of their foremen and of- 
fice force are Brazilians, most of their employees, where ability 
is required, are from the United States or Canada. The man- 
agement is altogether from the United States and Canada, 
and most of their office force also. As we were going up the 
mountain to the International Hotel, we met two young men 
who were clerks in the Light and Power Company office; 
when they learned that we were Americans they were de- 

lOI 



SOUTH AMERICA 



8£ff.^ 




SOUTH AMERICA 




o 



SOUTH AMERICA 




ROCK CAVERN ON MOUNTAIN TUJUCA. 
Near Rio Janeiro, Brazil. 



RIO JANEIRO 

lighted to talk with us, as they were homesick. I asked one 
of them where he was from, he said Hannibal, Missouri ; this 
is a great state, and has her sons scattered in many parts of 
the earth. Rio has a great many handsome public buildings, 
among the most beautiful is the Municipal Opera House, com- 
pleted two years ago at a cost of three and one-half million 
dollars, gold. The new public library, also treasury building, 
all located on Avenida Central, would do credit to any capitol 
in the world. The City of Rio Janeiro is located 221/2 degrees 
south of the equator, has a population of 900,000, Portu- 
guese, Indians and Negroes, is growing rapidly, and by many 
it is called the most beautiful city in the world. In driving 
or walking one may turn, in passing, either to the right or 
left, both are proper and correct in Brazil. The street num- 
bers are all even on one side, and odd on the other; I was 
looking for number 76, Avenida Central, and supposed when 
I came to number yj, it would be directly across the street, 
but such is not the case, as I found number 76 about two 
blocks farther down the street. That is the peculiar way they 
have of numbering their buildings ; each building has a num- 
ber without regard to the street front, and the odd numbers 
are not always opposite the even numbers ; it is just the peculiar 
Portuguese way of numbering houses. Rio has more delight- 
ful summer resorts close at hand than any other place we have 
visited. The streets, all parks. Central and suburbs, are kept 
remarkably clean, and the sidewalks in the central part of the 
city are many of them laid with mosaic in-laid tile, quite ex- 
pensive, and very beautiful. There are several short railway 
lines that run out from Rio from 100 to 300 miles, and one 
which runs to Sao Paulo, about 500 miles. These should 
bring much commerce to Rio Janeiro, as the country is very 
fertile, but the land back a few miles is as yet mostly a tropical 
jungle, and requires great effort and well directed labor to 
clean it up, but when that is done it will blossom like the rose. 
One great obstacle to railroad building and manufacturing 
is the lack of coal ; there is no coal in this part of Brazil, and 

105 



SOUTH AMERICA 




BAHIA 

but little in any part of South America on the east coast. All 
the coal we saw was imported from England, and the timber 
in all the tropics is not suitable to make lumber for building 
purposes, being mostly small trunks, about the right size for 
railroad ties, and many times loo feet tall. It is valuable 
for making dye woods and for mahogany furniture; also 
for making charcoal, which is the only fuel used here for 
cooking. We have seen scarcely any trees large enough to be 
called saw timber in any part of South America. 



BAHIA. 



This city was founded by the Portuguese in 1549. The 
correct name of the city is Sao Salvador, and it was the first 
capital of Brazil, situated thirteen degrees south of the equa- 
tor; it is always summer time, population 260,000, and 90 
per cent of them are negroes, or mixed blood. The harbor 
is a wide bay open to the sea, and although it was very calm 
the day we entered, we think it would be a poor harbor in a 
storm. Viewed from our steamer, it looked like a beautiful 
city, as warehouses and heavy business is located along the 
sea level; this part of the city is called "Low Bahia." The 
greater part of the city is built on an elevation of about 200 
feet, and is called "High Bahia"; elevators are located at 
convenient points and take us up for 100 Reis, or about three 
cents for the trip. We called at Bahia on Sunday, as that 
was the only day our steamer would remain in port, and took 
a long street car ride over the entire city and suburbs. It 
was in fact the only means of transportation in the city, as 
there are but four automobiles here, and no carriages to be 
seen in the place ; no doubt there are a few carriages in Bahia, 
but we were on the street several hours and did not see one. 



107 



SOUTH AMERICA 




STREET SCENE, BAHIA, BRAZIL. 



BAHIA 

By legal regulation no man can ride in the street cars here 
unless he wears a coat; as the weather was very warm, some 
of our passengers carried their coats on their arms and were 
required to put them on or leave the car. One boy, about 
fourteen years old, in our party, had left his coat on the 
steamer and had his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he 
was forced to leave the car, as he had no coat; we had never 
heard of a rule enforced so strictly, but it is no doubt a good 
rule for Bahia. The donkey and mule are used as pack 
animals to carry all sorts of merchandise. There are 300 
churches in the city, and it is the most strict Sabbath observ- 
ing place we were ever in. Every business house in the 
central part of the city was closed, except the butcher shops; 
we saw many places open for the sale of meat. Out in the 
suburbs it was quite different, as that part of the population 
seem to use the Sabbath as a general wash day, and a large 
part of the hills were covered with laundry spread out to dry. 
Quite a large portion of the population are negroes, who live 
in the poorest kind of tumble-down shacks, without floors, 
and have very little clothing, and that very inferior and rag- 
ged; this part of the people are the kind who will not work 
unless they are forced by hunger to do so. When Bahia was 
first occupied by Portuguese they proceeded to make the na- 
tive Indians their slaves ; the Jesuit fathers had been teaching 
these Indians and had converted many of them, having great 
influence over them; they objected to the Portuguese plan 
of forcing them into slavery. Thereupon, the master Portu- 
guese proceeded by force to import the African negro into 
Bahia as slaves; the climate suits the negro, and he has mul- 
tiplied much faster than any other class. These slaves were 
liberated by law in 1888, without war or turmoil, By Dom 
Pedro II. They have so increased in numbers that Bahia 
will forever be a negro state; the Portuguese have no race 
prejudice, and there is no color line in Bahia, everything seems 
to run along smoothly, without regard to race, color or pre- 

109 



SOUTH AMERICA 




BAHIA 

vious condition of servitude. We visited the San Francisco 
Cathedral, which is over 300 years old, and said to be the 
richest church in South America ; it is quite similar to many 
of the churches in Spain, but has more gilded carving than 
any other church we ever saw. Extraordinarily ornate, the 
cloister is panelled all around an inside square, with pictures 
of the Saints, and others, in blue tile ; the confessional is fin- 
ished in walnut, elaborately carved. The San Francisco fath- 
ers are very proud of their cathedral, and took much pleas- 
ure in showing our party around. The principal crop in this 
section is tobacco. The value of this product is about twenty- 
five million per year; a great many Bahia cigars are made 
here, of fairly good quality, and much tobacco is exported 
to Europe. The oranges grown here never get yellow, but 
are green in color when they are ripe; they are very large 
and fine flavor, and the bananas are the best we have had in 
South America. We did not learn how much cotton is raised 
in this section, but there are twelve cotton mills here, some 
of them large; they have a combined capital of five million 
dollars. There are three lines of railway running out from 
Bahia 200 or 300 miles, which makes some business for the city, 
but it does not look prosperous; in general, the public build- 
ings have an old and worn appearance, and lack of paint. The 
public parks are not kept up in tidy appearance. Most of the 
streets in the suburbs are not paved ; that may not make much 
difference, as they apparently do not use wheeled vehicles. 
Just near the landing where we disembarked is a beautiful 
little park with the residence of a government official in the 
rear, and a very high monument in front for Dom Pedro II, 
who was the greatest emperor of Brazil, and reigned fifty- 
eight years, or until the government was made a Republic. 
In the last years of his reign the slaves were liberated. 



Ill 



SOUTH AMERICA 




PARA. 



On the morning of March 24th, 191 1, when we stepped 
out on the promenade deck, we found the Bkicher slowly nos- 
ing her way up stream on the great Amazon river. This 
branch of its several mouths is known locally as the Para river. 
As there was no land in sight we should have thought we 
were in the wide ocean had it not been for the dark muddy 
color of the water, which plainly indicated that we were on 
the Amazon. After a few hours we came to the light-ship 
and halted long enough to take on a pilot, as the mud and 
sand which filled the water are continually making small 
islands and sandbars and so changing the channel that it re- 
quires a pilot who is every day on this stream, to keep a ship 
from running aground. As we could not see land we guessed 
that this arm of the river may have been fifty to seventy-five 
miles wide. After steaming some distance up the river we 
discovered the large island of Mara jo on our starboard side, 
as large as some of the small states of our union ; a few miles 
further up the river and we began to see in the distance the 
low flat mainland of Brazil. At this time the temperature 
was eighty, and the humidity very great. The sky was cov- 
ered with dense dark clouds; drizzling rain was falling and 
the mist so filled the air it was hard to tell whether we were 
breathing air or water. We were sailing in such a mixture 
of water and earth that one could not readily determine how 
much of earth there was in this water, or how much of water 
there was in this earth. In fact, the component parts of our 
firmament at this point were in solution, and relative propor- 
tions not determined. It reminded us of that time of the 
creation of the earth when the scriptures tell us that the earth 
was without form. Indeed, it is still forming here, as new 
islands are being continually made and the mainland increased 
by the loads of earth in solution which flows down the great 
Amazon. For eighty miles we were guided up stream by our 
river pilot to the city of Para, which we reached near night 

113 



SOUTH AMERICA 




PARA 

in a deluge of rain. This we were told, however, should be 
called only a drizzle, as the regular rains for the season have 
not yet begun. This is the land where the mosquito thrives 
to the greatest proportions. However, our usual good luck 
attended us, and we did not see, hear or feel a mosquito 
while on our steamer, for which we were duly thankful. We 
were anchored three miles off from the city, and possibly had 
not been found by Mr. Mosquito, who has the credit of inocu- 
lating unwilling victims with the yellow fever. This is prob- 
ably the originating place of this dread pestilence, and there 
is hardly ever a time when there is no yellow fever here. A 
member of our party was taken suddenly ill four days after 
leaving Para, and we were much relieved when she recovered 
without having the yellow fever. Para, or Belem, which 
is the local name of the city, is the capital of the state of Para, 
has a population of 200,000, Portuguese and Indians, and is 
situated one degree south of the equator. The next morning 
the sun was shining and we were sticky and hot when we 
went ashore; some new stone docks have been recently con- 
structed, and more are being built; also several large dock 
warehouses of corrugated iron are located here. The ship- 
ping is not great at present, as there were only a few vessels 
in port; it is not the active shipping season for rubber. This 
port ships out thirty-nine million dollars' worth of crude rub- 
ber per annum, while Manaos, which is further up the river, 
exports forty-five million dollars' worth of crude rubber per 
annum, both together do nearly all the crude rubber exporta- 
tion from Brazil, and our United States takes over half of 
their exports. The city is nearly flat, as is all the surrounding 
country, and is nearly 300 years old. The great impetus of 
the rubber trade in recent years has benefited Para, and 
many city improvements have been and are now being in- 
stalled. Electric street railway lines cover the most import- 
ant streets, electric lights and telephones are in general use; 
water pipes and sewer pipes are being laid; a fine new rail- 
way station is nearing completion; there are many automo- 

115 



SOUTH AMERICA 




PARA 

biles, and a few carriages; the old city is being rejuvenated. 
Most of the buildings have a mossy and mouldy look, caused 
by an over abundance of rain; vegetation of all kinds has a 
rank and tropical growth here. We never saw so many streets 
covered with grass, yet business is brisk in the central sec- 
tion for a tropical city. The streets in the central part are 
being paved with granite blocks, and the outlying districts 
are not generally paved at all. The buildings in the central 
part are two or three stories, with many beautiful parks, while 
the suburbs are the poorest kind of tumble-down shacks. The 
people seem to have plenty of employment, and look healthy 
and strong; the infants usually go entirely naked until six 
or eight years old. The parents do not provide clothing for 
the little children until they know whether they will live; of 
course, there are many exceptions to this rule in the city. 
There were eleven children looking at us from two windows, 
and the clothing on the whole lot would not fill the pocket of 
one of our school boys in our United States. Fruit and flow- 
ers are very plentiful, and the markets filled with native 
products, monkeys and parrots of endless variety, size and 
quality were offered for sale continually, and many of our 
passengers bought, and are taking them home. We have 
quite a collection of monkeys and parrots on board, bound for 
the United States. As we left Para and sailed down the river 
the sun was shining and gave us a fine view of the country 
residences which are located along the shore for many miles. 
There are very pretty homes, with wide grass plats around 
them; beautiful palm trees and a wealth of tropical verdure of 
all kinds, the darkest green we have ever seen, with gravel 
drives and walks, and usually a small boat pier to each resi- 
dence made the most entrancing scenery. Further down the 
banks were solidly covered with the largest tropical trees and 
almost impenetrable jungle, for the greater part never ex- 
plored by white man or Indian, where all kinds of tropical 
animals, birds and serpents flourish in their native state, 
without fear of molestation by man. 

117 



SOUTH AMERICA 




FERN TREES, BOTANICAL GARDEN, RIO JANEIRO, BRAZIL. 



BRAZIL. 



Taking this country as a whole, it has a larger area than 
the United States, not including Alaska, and a population of 
twenty millions, lying almost entirely in the tropics. By 
reason of its geographical position, being such a hot country, 
it has been very slow to fill with population. The weather 
is generally too debilitating to encourage a white man to 
make his home here. Discovered by Pedro Alveras Cabral, 
a Portuguese, April 22nd, 1500, only eight years later than 
the date when Columbus discovered America, compared with 
United States, progress has been very slow. In Bahia where 
the people are almost entirely negroes, they will increase in 
numbers rapidly, as this climate is suited to them. The coffee 
and rubber industries, both of which have been recently won- 
derfully profitable, and which are admirably suited to Bra- 
zilian climate, have already given this country quite an impetus 
and no doubt will have considerable influence in peopling 
Brazil in future. The Brazilian Empire, taken as a whole, 
however, on account of the climatic conditions, is so far in- 
ferior as a home for the white man who has been reared in the 
temperate zone, that there is not the slightest prospect of our 
country becoming depopulated by immigration thither. Still 
it is one of the most interesting places for a visit, as nearly 
everything in' this wonderful country is so very different 
from our own fair land, the people and their customs being 
all new and strange to us. The Brazilians have a very friendly 
feeling for the United States, and well they may have, as 
they sell us nearly half of their exports, and our commercial 
relations are likely to become even more intimate in the fu- 
ture. As United States becomes more densely populated, very 
likely a part of the overflow of population from Europe, 
which has been coming to us may be turned to South America 
and cause that country to increase or develop more rapidly 
than theretofore. As a nation our United States are growing 
rapidly in the manufacturing of nearly all classes of merchand- 

119 



SOUTH AMERICA 




BRAZIL 

ise, and will soon need a foreign demand to keep our factories 
going. With this in view, our congress should subsidize 
steamers to carry our mails direct to all South American 
neighbors; also we should cultivate by every means in our 
power, the most friendly relations with them. We have, under 
the Monroe doctrine shielded them from foreign invasion for 
a century, yet some of these southern Republics still have an 
idea that we want some of their territory. We should treat 
them so generously that they will change that idea and believe 
what is true, that we want none of their territory, but we do 
want their trade. 



121 



WEST INDIES 




2 
o 

O 
o 

3 

H 



WEST INDIES 



WEST INDIES 




ST. THOMAS 

On February 27th, 1909, we sailed for a month's cruise 
in the West Indies. Our first stop was St. Thomas, a Danish 
possession in the tropics. The weather was like July in the 
United States, we suffered with the heat even after changing 
to our thinnest summer clothing. This little harbor is very 
pretty, being almost surrounded by land. It is always quiet 
and deep enough for large ships. Our steamer anchored 
about a half mile from the shore, as there are no piers or 
docks here. The town lies in a semi-circle around the 
harbor and presents a beautiful appearance from the sea; the 
population is about ten thousand, but does not look so large; 
houses mostly built of cement and painted white with red 
tile roofs. In the central or business section the buildings 
are generally two stories, while the residences are one story 
and poor at that. This was the home of sea pirates in days 
when that profession was lucrative, and the most prominent 
landmarks in the city are two pirate castles which are built 
on the tops of two high hills. The Blue Beard castle is 
nearest the harbor entrance about two hundred and fifty feet 
above sea level. The castle itself is a square stone building 
with a tower which has a winding stair-case rising forty-six 
steps. We climbed to the top and were rewarded with a 
delightful view over the harbor and the city. This castle 
was built so long ago there is no history of the builders or 
early occupants, but the location was well chosen and the 
pirate chief could view the ocean for some miles and judge 
the strength of all craft coming into the harbor. The other, 
called Black Beard's castle, is built on a side hill above the 
central part of the city, a very well chosen home for the 
pirate, as he could view every ship before she came to anchor, 

125 



WEST INDIES 




^v 




BLUE BEARD'S CASTLE, ST. THOMAS. 



PORTO RICO 

and decide whether he wished to be at home to callers or 
not. This pirate was called Black Beard because he wore 
a long black beard, but his real name was Ed Teach ; he had 
the reputation of being a fighter and a terror to the ships 
which frequented these waters two hundred years ago. Indeed 
he became such a menace to ships sailing West India waters 
that the Governor of Virginia offered a reward of one hund- 
red pounds sterling for his capture. A Yankee sea captain 
named Maynard had an encounter with Teach and during the 
melee the pirate accidently got in the way of a bullet and 
was killed, and thus ended the career of a noted bad man. 

The people of St. Thomas are a mixture of Negro, 
Danes, French and Spaniards, the amalgamation has been 
going on for three hundred years, and now their color ranges 
all the way from jet black to white; their language is Danish 
and English, both being taught in their schools, and there is 
apparently no race prejudice among them, all colors and kinds 
associating on a brotherly equality. 



SAN JUAN, PORTO RICO. 

We landed in the harbor of San Juan, Porto Rico, on 
March 4th, 1909. This is one of the most beautiful and 
fertile islands in the West Indies; it was handed to us by 
Spain in 1898. The harbor is fine and well protected from 
storms, but is not deep. A government dredge is now con- 
tinuously in use to make it deep enough for the largest ships. 
The city of San Juan is situated on the north side of the 
island, and is the capital, and the governor, with his force 
of assistants and the United States troops, are located there. 
It is a walled city of forty thousand population, and most 
of the old walls are standing; they were built of stone, brick 
and cement about three hundred years ago and are not easy 

127 



WEST INDIES 




PORTO RICO 

to tear down. Old Fort Moro, which guards the entrance 
to the harbor, is very strong, and occupies a commanding 
situation on a hill one hundred and fifty feet high just at 
the harbor entrance, which is not more than a half mile wide at 
this point. We obtained permission from the commanding 
general, and inspected the fort; it is well worth the time and 
labor to see this ancient and massive fortification; the walls 
are as solid and strong today as ever. We Americans think 
we know something about the use of cement and concrete, 
but these cement walls, which are not steel reinforced, were 
built three hundred years ago, and will stand for one thous- 
and years to come, and then require dynamite to knock them 
down. Admiral Sampson threw a few shells into this old 
fort when he was hunting for the Spanish fleet, but did not 
do much damage; he knocked out one corner of the wall on 
the sea side and did a little damage on the inside, but so 
little that it has not been found necessary to repair it. We 
climbed to the top and the view from that point is certainly 
fine, over the harbor and city. We had thought we would 
take a few shots at the old fort ourselves, but the soldier 
in. charge at the gate requested us to leave our kodak outside, 
and on this account we regret we cannot show our friends 
photos of the inside of "Old Moro." The city inside of the 
walls is entirely built of brick, stone and cement, walls very 
heavy and thick. The houses from one to four stories, streets 
about twenty feet wide, sidewalks two or three feet wide, 
and the same style of architecture as Cadiz and Seville, Spain, 
and reminds us much of these two cities. 

San Juan is built on the hills, streets paved with brick, 
looks very clean and is a healthy place. We took a ride in a 
railway train out fifteen miles to a sugar refinery. This 
part of the island is pleasantly undulating and covered with 
fields of sugar cane, pine apples, bananas, and dotted here 
and there with Palm trees, from twenty to forty feet high, 
altogether making a beautiful landscape. The crop of sugar 
cane now being harvested is said to yield well, although the 

129 



WEST INDIES 




WEST INDIES 




WEST INDIES 




WEST INDIES 




WEST INDIES 




PORTO RICO 

cane stalks are not as large as we have seen elsewhere. This 
sugar cane land is held at a very high price ; the sugar busi- 
ness is increasing and no doubt very profitable. 

The Porto Rican population as it is today is a mixture 
of the negroes who were brought here centuries ago as slaves, 
and Spanish blood; they range in color all the way from 
black to white, but usually about copper color or a shade 
darker. They are fairly good day laborers, and their pay 
is about 50 cents per clay; they do not as a usual thing work 
while they have money. If they can supply their wants by 
working four days a week that is all the work they will do, 
and when they get their wages will not work again until they 
have spent it. They live in very poor houses or huts, in the 
country, built of a few poles covered with banana leaves for 
a roof, and many times when that roof is worn in holes they 
do not take the trouble to repair it. The huts are built on 
posts two or three feet above the ground to give free air 
circulation under them, making it cooler and more healthy. 
They use almost no fire at all, the little cooking they have 
is done with charcoal; no fire is used for heat in these huts, 
and in fact very little is needed. They are a mild mannered, 
pleasant speaking people, not given to contention and not 
hard to govern. The only soldiers now in the island are 
eight hundred native Porto Ricans; they are dressed in 
khaki uniforms and are proud to be soldiers in the United 
States army. As a general thing the people are greatly 
pleased to be under the United States rule rather than under 
the old regime of Spanish authority; and still there are some 
that are discontented and want all the governing power left 
to the natives. At present their laws are made by two houses, 
the lower, or representative body, is elected by popular votes 
of the people; the upper house is appointed by our President, 
five being Porto Ricans and six Americans. The highest 
federal officers in the island are appointed as the six Ameri- 
can representatives. All the taxes are used for the benefit 
of the people. After the governing expenses are paid, the 

135 



WEST INDIES 




JAMAICA 

balance is spent in building wagon roads throughout the 
island. The United States Government does not get any 
of the taxes, so that they have about all now that they could 
in justice ask. There are many people from the United States 
located here in business and farming. This influx gives an air of 
prosperity to the whole island. Quite a city has been built 
outside the walls, on the main land; these houses are light 
frame structures, similar to many cheap homes which we 
see in the United States. The Swift Packing Company and 
other mercantile interests from the United States are located 
in San Juan, but the city is still Spanish in all respects and 
very little English is spoken, except by the children and very 
young people, and those who have located here from the 
United States. In the shops or stores usually one clerk will 
speak English, and that not fluently, but the Americans have 
established public schools almost everywhere, American teach- 
ers are employed, Spanish and English languages are taught, 
and probably in fifty years the English will be generally in 
use. We were much pleased with Porto Rico, and if we had a 
good American cook, with pleasant company, would like to 
camp out a month here, visiting the whole island. 



JAMAICA. 



We arrived at Kingston March 7th, 1909, and took a 
train at once for Port Antonio, eighty-five miles across the 
low mountain range to the North Coast. This railway is well 
built, but the country is so mountainous it was very expensive 
to build. There are thirty-five tunnels on the line and the 
temperature in them is very hot and suffocating; time, four 
hours for the railway trip. On the north side of the island, 
the whole country is covered with banana fields and cocoa- 
nut palms, on mountain side and plain, everywhere is the 

137 



WEST INDIES 




KINGSTON 

banana; the trees in many fields average fifteen feet high. 
This part of the island, which is devoted to fruit growing, 
is quite prosperous. The United States Fruit Company, an 
American corporation, who own many thousand acres of 
banana fields, run a line of steamers direct from Port An- 
tonio to New York to transport their fruit. One would 
think there are enough bananas grown here to supply the 
whole world. 

We found the Hotel Titchfield most desirable; it is 
splendidly situated on a small peninsula, at the entrance of 
the harbor, on a hill about one hundred feet above the sea, 
and has three sides facing the water. It is a large frame 
structure, size about four hundred by one hundred feet, four 
stories, with large commodious rooms, an elevator, a wide 
summer veranda, a large ball room and an excellent band 
which plays twice a day, also a good swimming place in the 
harbor; the grounds have beautiful royal palms, cocoanut 
palms and tropical flowers in profusion ; an ideal hotel to tempt 
the tourist to remain for an indefinite time. 



KINGSTON. 

The capital, population claimed sixty thousand, is situated 
on the south side of the island and has fine large harbor, 
deep enough for our steamer, which draws twenty-five feet, 
to come alongside the dock. This is the largest city and the 
most important shipping point on the island, situated on level 
ground, with the mountains in the background, the effect is 
pleasing. The earthquake two years ago nearly destroyed 
the business section, and it will be many years before it will 
be completely rebuilt. Up to the present time comparatively 
little rebuilding has been done and many blocks lie in ruins 

139 



WEST INDIES 




COCOA TREE, WITH A GOOD CROP OF COCOA BEANS. 
JAMAICA. 



KINGSTON 

as they were left after the destructive quake. Nearly every 
church in the city was destroyed. The residences suffered 
Httle, as most of them are built of wood. The shops or small 
stores are doing business in many cases in improvised build- 
ings and hope to get back in their old quarters sometime. 
Some parties are now rebuilding, using the reinforced con- 
crete style of construction, which may be able to withstand 
future shocks, but we think such a quake as destroyed King- 
ston would ruin almost anything which man could build. 

The climate in Jamaica is very mild and it is a pleasant 
place for the people of the United States to spend the winter; 
usual temperature about eighty degrees and rather humid, 
rainfall eighty-seven inches per annum; the winter is their 
dry season. There are many well macadamized graded roads 
in the island, two thousand miles in all, and the seeker for 
pleasure will find the automobile a first class method of visit- 
ing the whole island ; there are plenty of automobiles for hire 
in Kingston. 

The island has belonged to England since Cromwell 
took it from the Spanish about two hundred and fifty years 
ago. The population are mostly negroes, and there are more 
full-blooded black negroes here than we have seen in the 
other West India Islands we have visited. The English do 
not seem to amalgamate as readily with the negroes as the 
Spanish. The Jamaican negro is a better worker than the 
Spanish-Negro mixture of Porto Rico. The negroes run the 
railway trains, street cars, drive carriages, are clerks in stores, 
work at the trades, work on the plantation ; in fact they occupy 
nearly all the places in all lines of labor and business. The 
pilot who took our ship out of the harbor was a negro. The 
English own most of the business firms and banks. The 
Bank of Novia Scotia is about completing a very fine build- 

141 



WEST INDIES 




APPULET PALM, JAMAICA. 



WEST INDIES 




KINGSTON, JAMAICA. 
After the Cocoanuts. 



WEST INDIES 




KINGSTON 

ing in Kingston. Many Americans are also engaged in 
business on the island, also some Chinese and East Indians. 

There are some cattle in the island, and most of the 
heavy work is done by oxen, with a straight yoke tied to their 
horns. Goats are seen almost everywhere, kept for their 
milk; they are small, not more than half as large as those 
raised in the United States. The horses used here are similar 
to the Porto Rican ponies, or the Philippine ponies, small, 
not more than half the size of our horses and generally in 
poor flesh, as they do not get enough to eat. 

The products of Jamaica are anything that can be grown 
in the tropics : We saw a few patches of Indian corn growing 
on the mountains, but their principal products are sugar, 
rum, coffee, pimento, cocoa, cocoanuts, bananas and dye 
woods. We saw many logwood trees growing in the mount- 
ains. There is one large Banyan tree in the public park in 
Kingston which covers with its spreading branches more than 
a quarter of an acre of ground, very thick with foliage. 

There is an excellent line of street cars in Kingston, 
which extends several miles out in the country. One line 
runs to the Constant Springs Hotel, six miles out ; this is the 
only good hotel which Kingston has at present, very finely 
located about seven hundred feet above sea level on the mount- 
ain side. 

English money is the currency used in Jamaica, but they 
are all glad to take American money and will allow a prem- 
ium of two per cent on it in most of the stores. It is not 
necessary to provide yourself with English money when going 
to Jamaica, as you will get along all right if you have plenty 
of American money. 



145 



WEST INDIES 




PANAMA CANAL 



We arrived at Colon March, loth, 1909, and immediately 
took a train for Panama and spent one day visiting in the 
canal zone. Nearly everyone who reads, knows more or less 
about the Panama Canal, and the impressions made by a visit 
of one day to this stupendous work may not be of much 
importance to the public, and in fact we may not tell any- 
thing which has not already been many times told. Still the 
most of us would like to have the opportunity of one day's 
visit here and would think we knew more about this work 
after a day's visit. 

The Panama Railway, which is owned and operated 
by the United States Government, as almost everything else 
in the canal zone, is fifty miles long from Colon to Panama, 
and follows near the proposed line of the canal. It is a well 
built road and well operated, was built fifty years ago and 
came into the possession of the United States with the pur- 
chase of the canal rights from the French government. It is 
literally strewn from one end to the other with old cast-away 
locomotives, grading machinery, light railway iron, and an 
immense amount of old scrap iron junk, which was in use by 
the French, but lay idle for ten years after the failure of the 
French company and was worthless when we bought the 
canal rights. 

The railway itself was kept up and operated by the 
French until we took the property, as it is the only connec- 
tion between Panama and Colon for transportation of pas- 
sengers and freight. The United States Government has 

147 



WEST INDIES 




PANAMA CANAL 

recently decided to use crude oil for fuel on the railway and 
canal machines, and have laid a pipe line alongside of the 
railway, so that they can readily pipe oil to all parts of the 
work. We think this is a wise move, for the coal which is 
used here must all come from the United States, or England, 
and is much more expensive for fuel, in this locality, than oil. 

As the United States has decided to build a lock canal, 
a large part of this road will have to be rebuilt, as the present 
line will be flooded by the lake which will be formed by 
daming the Chagres river; in fact, this change is now being 
made, and a large part of the new railway line has already 
been constructed. 

We stopped at the Gatun dam, which is only seven miles 
out from Colon, for a view of the work in course of con- 
struction. The newspaper talk which has been spread broad- 
cast in the United States, about this dam settling, is no doubt 
pure fiction, as the dam will be no more likely to settle than 
the surrounding hills which will also operate as a dam for 
many miles. The plan is to dam the Chagres river so as 
to raise the water eighty-five feet. This lift is to be over- 
come by three sets of locks, twenty-eight and a half feet lift 
to each set of locks. The dam will form an artificial lake 
from forty-five to ninety feet deep covering an area of one 
hundred sixty-four square miles, and will form twenty-three 
miles of the canal, from Gatun Locks to the Culebra Cut. 
This cut, which is near the Panama end, will be nearly nine 
miles long and about two hundred feet deep at the point 

where the hills are highest. 

! 

This immense excavation is well under way. The material 
to be removed is a formation of blue shale rock, and while 

149 



WEST INDIES 




PANAMA CANAL 

not very hard to remove, still it is rock and has to be blasted 
and broken up in chunks small enough to be handled by the 
steam shovels. 

After the cut is passed, we come to the site of the two 
Pedro Migual Locks and the two Mira Flores Locks, where 
boats will be dropped down to the sea level at the Pacific end. 
After passing over this line and seeing the tremendous amount 
of work that will be required, we do not think there is any 
doubt but that it is the greatest undertaking ever essayed by 
man; at least we do not know of any such gigantic work 
heretofore accomplished. When it will be completed and at 
what cost is largely conjecture; for instance, the eminent 
French engineers under DeLesseps estimated a sea level canal 
to cost one hundred sixty-nine million dollars, and after ex- 
pending two hundred and sixty million dollars failed and sold 
their rights to the United States, for forty million dollars. 
When our engineers took up the work, they had in consulta- 
tion for examination, estimates and advice, the most learned 
and experienced engineers of the world, and estimated the 
cost at two hundred fourteen million, seven hundred and five 
thousand, two hundred dollars, and now it is admitted by the 
engineers in charge of the work that it will probably cost 
three hundred and seventy-five million dollars; so much for 
the ability of the wisest men in this line of work, to forecast 
the cost. 

The United States have done a great amount of work 
in getting things ready. They have built sanitary houses 
for the officers and workmen along the whole line; really 
have built several young cities. The houses are built of 
wood, elevated a few feet from the ground, allowing free 
ventilation under the buildings, a veranda perhaps ten feet 
wide all around the house and all this veranda screened to 
keep out mosquitos and flying insects, as there are very few 

151 



WEST INDIES 




PANAMA CANAL 

flies in the Canal Zone. The roof extends several feet over 
all. The buildings are painted dark blue with white trim- 
mings, and are almost always located on a side hill where the 
drainage is best. This excellent plan of construction, with 
the rigid sanitary laws in force both in Panama and Colon, 
as well as all along the line, will come as near making the 
canal zone a healthy place as possible. 

The laborers now employed in the canal work are Ja- 
maica Negroes who are paid fifteen cents per hour, and there 
seems to be more of them than any other kind. Next in 
number are the Spaniards, who are paid twenty cents an 
hour, and it is claimed are the best laborers on the work. 
There are some Americans, who are generally bosses, some 
Italians and a few of many other nationalities. 

The commercial interests of the world and our naval 
interests demanded that this canal should be built, and it is 
perhaps our duty to do this stupendous work. Whether it 
should have been undertaken in this century, or deferred until 
the next, should have been a question for careful considera- 
tion. If we can complete and successfully operate this canal 
as now contemplated, at a cost of three hundred and seventy- 
five million dollars, and have it ready for actual use in 191 5, 
as now claimed by the engineers in charge, we shall have done 
a work which perhaps could not be done by any other nation 
and for which the whole world will be under obligations to 
the United States. 

The City of Colon, which is on the Atlantic end of the 
canal, has a mixed population of about fifteen thousand. 
Houses are two stories, frame, and the best of them have 
been built by our Uncle Sam as homes and boarding houses 
for the canal and railway employes. It gives one the im- 

153 



WEST INDIES 




PANAMA CANAL 

pression of a very rough and tough city, and not one which 
would be desirable as a place for a residence. 

The City of Panama is two hundred years old, was 
built by the Spanish, population forty thousand, mixed people 
from nearly every quarter of the globe; there are probably 
more Jamaica Negroes and Chinese than any other class. 
The buildings are of every kind of construction; in the main 
business part are brick, plastered with cement, and usually 
two stories high with narrow streets, while the residence 
portion is built mostly of wood and of the cheapest possible 
construction. 

The United States Government has built a hotel here 
of three hundred rooms, light and airy and intended princi- 
pally as a place of residence for the canal officers and their 
families. This hotel is called "Tivoli," and is the only first 
class hotel in this part of the world; we had luncheon there, 
and it was excellent. This is the only hotel that we know of 
that is owned and operated by Uncle Sam. 

The most important building in Panama is the Ancon 
Hospital, built by the French at a cost of five million dollars. 
The city is situated on low hills, which gives good opportunity 
for drainage, and with the strict sanitary laws now in force, 
will be much more healthy than heretofore. The population 
are of a low order, who herd together in poor quarters. As 
the city is only nine degrees north of the equator, it will 
require great care and vigilence by the sanitary officers to 
prevent epidemics such as are frequent in the tropics. The 
Pacific end of the canal is about four miles west of Panama 
at LaBoca. 



155 



WEST INDIES 




LA GUAYRA 



After three days' delightful sailing, where the trade 
winds temper the heat, we arrived at the town of La Guayra, 
Venezuela, on the morning of March 13th, 1909. There is 
not much of a harbor here; it is simply a small bay, with 
nothing to prevent the heavy swells of the ocean from coming 
in, as they do nearly all the year. This part of the ocean 
is swept by the trade winds, which blow steadily six months 
of the year from the southeast. The water is deep, and the 
largest ships can anchor a half mile out. 

The town is built on the side of a mountain, four thous- 
and five hundred feet high, and approaching from the sea, 
the buildings look like toy houses. They are built of sun- 
dried bricks, with red tile roof, and not a tree or blade of 
grass near, which makes the place look very hot; indeed, it 
is said to be the hottest place on earth, but there was a nice 
breeze the morning we landed and we did not suffer from 
the heat. 

A small fort is located on the mountain a few hundred 
feet above the town. There is a Catholic church, and a Leper 
Hospital a short distance out. A fine large flour mill, which 
is not running now, is located in the city. This mill was 
put up under the Castro regime at a cost of fifty thousand 
dollars, by a Yankee miller from Minneapolis. At that time 
there was an import duty of two dollars per barrel on flour, 
and no duty on wheat. Since Castro has been deposed, the 
duty on flour has been removed, hence the mill must of 
necessity go out of business; it is said to be the property 
of Castro. 

The town is called the chief seaport of Venezuela, but is 
not of much importance. We went immediately from the 
steamer to the railway train which was waiting for us, and 

157 



WEST INDIES 




CARACAS 

left for Caracas, the capital, six miles inland, but twenty-two 
miles railway travel is required to climb the mountains. The 
scenery on this railway is magnificent; it is very mountainous 
and picturesque, many wonderful flowering trees and unusual 
plant life to us. The railway is a three foot gauge and the 
shortest curves have one hundred and forty feet radius; quite 
a large part of the track is three and a half per cent grade. 
The highest point on the line is over three thousand feet, but 
the scenery is not as beautiful as the mountains of Switzer- 
land, as their mountains are usually green, while here there is 
scarcely a blade of grass or a green shrub, except in the bot- 
tom of the ravines. There is not enough green in these moun- 
tains to keep a goat, and generally they are too steep for a goat 
to climb. The train creeps around the sides of the mountains, 
always climbing, and frequently we could see three or four 
tracks beneath us. The railway trip from La Gauyra to Cara- 
cas is simply grand, and any one who cares for wild and rough 
scenery will be more than delighted with this trip. 



CARACAS. 

We arrived at Caracas at 3 :oo p. m., and after a good 
lunch at the Grand Hotel Klint, took a carriage to view the 
sights of the most interesting city of this interesting country. 

Caracas has a population of seventy-five thousand; it is 
Spanish, and over three hundred years old. The streets are 
regularly laid out, twenty feet wide, and in the business sec- 
tion the buildings are all brick, plastered outside and inside 
with cement. The city lies in a very pretty valley, twelve miles 
long and three miles wide, a clean healthy location; elevation 
three thousand and eighteen feet; the air is light and refresh- 
ing. At night and in the early morning a light overcoat is 
comfortable. 

There are several beautiful city parks, and many fine 

159 



WEST INDIES 




VENEZUELA 

homes, with large grounds, filled with the most beautiful 
tropical flowers and shrubbery. This is their dry season, but 
the vegetation is irrigated and has plenty of water which 
makes the homes and parks beautiful. 

The Capitol buildings, situated in the central part of the 
city, are very imposing, and compare favorably with many 
in the United States. The hotels are small and of Spanish 
type, many of the rooms having no windows, only the door 
for light and air. The room which we occupied had only one 
window, about two feet square, and that was very near the 
ceiling and opened out on an inside hallway. These people 
do not have our ideas of fresh air for sleeping rooms. 

There are a great many retail stores or shops in Caracas, 
but they are usually very small; the largest carry very small 
and inferior stocks of goods. 

The carriages here are drawn by two tough little Spanish 
horses, which usually go on the run. Most of the streets are 
paved with large cobble stones, and going over them on a gal- 
lop gives one a great shaking up. 

We went to a bull fight at night. The audience seemed 
to be much pleased, judging from the great applause; we saw 
five bulls tortured and wounded, and two killed; also one 
woman bull-fighter dangerously injured. I am more fully 
convinced now, than ever before, that the bull fight is de- 
grading and vicious in its tendency, and should be prohibited 
by law. 



VENEZUELA. 

Early the next morning we were off on a railway jour- 
ney to Puerto Cabello, a distance of two hundred miles, taking 
ten hours to make the trip, over the great Venezuela railway, 
built by a German company, and the Puerto Cabello and Va- 
lencia railway. On this all day trip through the central part 
of this very interesting country we had a great opportunity 

i6i 



WEST INDIES 



-■■•SA^'^"., -^ 




VENEZUELA 

to see the people and their ways, as well as the great railway- 
line. There are eighty-six tunnels on this line, and two hun- 
dred and twelve iron bridges and viaducts. Two and a quar- 
ter miles of the road is eight per cent grade ; on this part there 
is a cog wheel in the middle of the track and a cog wheel in 
the engine, and the decline was very easily made, dropping 
us one thousand feet. Then there is four miles three and a 
half per cent grade, dropping us another eight hundred feet, 
and that is getting down to the sea level rapidly. The road 
is well built and trains good. A great part of the country is 
very mountainous and rough and the scenery is almost beyond 
description. 

We passed through three small valleys where the vege- 
tation under irrigation was very fine, but the mountainous 
country is barren and sterile, and no animals, except goats and 
burros could subsist, and they are generally in thin flesh. One 
valley contains the Lake of Tacarigua, a sheet of water about 
fifteen miles long and a half mile to three miles wide, a beau- 
tiful lake about two thousand feet above sea level. In this 
valley, which is fertile, we saw many good looking cattle, fine 
fields of sugar cane, bananas, some fields of cotton, and a lit- 
tle corn. 

On the sea coast a few miles west of Puerto Cabello is a 
forest of organ cacti trees of several hundred acres. These 
cacti trees are from ten to thirty feet high, a good strong tree, 
with trunks and many branches, but not a leaf. It is a dreary 
desert, and certainly looks uncanny. 

The native Venezuelans are a mixture of Spanish, Negro 
and Indians, a kind, lazy, easy going people, not given to 
much labor, and as a general thing are in the greatest poverty ; 
they need but few clothes, and the infants as a rule wear no 
clothing at all until they are three or four years of age. These 

163 



WEST INDIES 




Q 
I— I 

O 

I 

H 

<5 



TRINIDAD 

people are very prolific, children swarm everywhere, and in 
nearly every group will be seen one or more naked brown 
babies astride the mother's hips, or in her arms. 

The animals are principally goats and burros, and these 
hardy friends of man can live where other animals would 
starve, and for that reason are well adapted to the mountains 
of Venezuela. 

There are many birds of beautiful plumage offered for 
sale in cages at nearly all the railway stations, from the par- 
rot to the humming bird. 

We were well treated while in Venezuela, and had better 
fare than we expected ; in fact the meals were generally better 
than we had while in Spain, several years ago. 

The trip was made without great discomfort; the tem- 
perature of course is high, and one making this trip should 
take the lightest summer clothing, at the same time a light 
overcoat for use in the evening and in the early morning. 



TRINIDAD. 

Port of Spain, with a population of sixty thousand, is 
the capital and principal city. The island of Trinidad, the 
most southerly of all the isles of West Indies, is a British 
possession and has been held as a crown colony by that nation 
for more than one hundred years. While I do not especially 
wish to praise the English, it is certainly a fact that these 
colonies have been much benefited by English occupation. 
When compared with the Spanish colonies, which originally 
occupied nearly all of the West Indies, the English colonies 
are far superior, and the island of Trinidad is one example. 

We visited the Port of Spain, which is the principal town 
on Trinidad, and found it the best town in West Indies, ex- 
cept San Juan and Havana. The streets are well laid out, 

165 



WEST INDIES 




HAND-CAR LOADED WITH ASPHALT— ON TROLLEY RUNNING TO 
STEAMER, TRINIDAD. 



TRINIDAD 

about forty feet wide. The business houses, usuahy two stor- 
ies, are built of brick, plastered inside and out with cement, 
and streets paved with asphalt. The city is clean, and usually 
healthy. 

We took a long carriage drive and had an excellent op- 
portunity to see the whole town. There is a large grass 
plat, called the Savannah, or Queen's Park, several hundred 
acres in extent, adjoining the city. It is a treat to the eye 
to see such a beautiful park, dotted with fine palm trees. This 
park is used by the public as a cricket ground, baseball, polo 
ground, and for all sorts of public amusements. Separated 
from it by a fine asphalt drive is the Botanical Garden, a de- 
light to the visitor. All kinds of tropical and spice trees are 
growing here, the cinnamon, pepper and clove ; we had not 
seen a clove tree before ; the cloves were just full grown, and 
maturing, and it is a beautiful tree. The nutmeg tree is also 
found here and looks very much like a small hickory tree. 

We saw many palm leaf trees all about the city. This 
is a beautiful palm tree, but quite different from any other 
kind of palm which we have seen, usually grows from ten to 
twenty feet high, with many spreading branches and wide 
leaves which look like palm leaf fans. 

Our drive took us past many elegant suburban residences 
with very handsome wide grounds with tropical trees and 
flowers. The houses are very tastefully built, and the gen- 
eral effect is very pleasing. 

Our drive took us out to a suburb called Coolie Town, 
which is occupied entirely by people from the East Indies. 
Their houses are of the cheap kind, and small, but quite com- 
fortable. This suburb lies along the sea coast for a mile or 
more. The whole of Coolie Town gives one a vivid impres- 
sion of East India. On our return drive we passed the Leper 
Hospital; it is large and airy, occupied by lepers, almost all 
of whom are from among the East Indian people. 

The stores in Trinidad are stocked with a better class of 
merchandise than we have seen in most other West Indian 

167 



WEST INDIES 




TRINIDAD 

cities, but to one accustomed to the large and varied stocks 
of merchandise carried in the United States, even the best of 
stores in West Indies are very inferior. 

When you go to West Indies don't anticipate buying any- 
thing, for you will not find the best quality, and the prices 
are as high as in the United States. 

The island of Trinidad is not so mountainous as Vene- 
zuela; there are many tracts where fine sugar cane fields and 
other crops are cultivated. In order to get labor to cultivate 
sugar crops the people from East India have been brought 
here on a five years' contract. The government guarantees 
the East Indians one shilling per day for five years, house 
room and medical attendance free, and pays one-third of the 
steamer fares, and the planter two-thirds; this makes it cost 
the sugar planter about forty cents per day for this Coolie 
labor. After the five years' contract they have their fare paid 
back to India, if they wish to return, and about one in five 
returns. There is usually about five boat loads or five thou- 
sand of these people brought here each year, and about one 
thousand return each year ; the result, after some years of this 
plan is, that there are now about one hundred thousand of 
these East India people who have become residents of the 
island. They still cling to their own style of dress, and one 
will see a good many of these people on the streets of the city, 
with legs thin and bare to the body, their only dress being 
white cotton cloth wrapped about their body in their own 
peculiar fashion. We saw many of their women with large 
silver or gold rings in their noses, the rings hang down over 
the mouth, and must be much in the way when eating or 
drinking. 

The harbor of Port of Spain is only a wide bay, the water 
shallow, about fifteen feet deep, for a long distance out. Our 
ship was compelled to anchor two miles out and send the pas- 
sengers to the wharf in small boats ; this is very inconvenient 
when the sea is rough. 

The language of the island is English, the greatest num- 

169 



WEST INDIES 




TRINIDAD 

ber of the people are Negroes, called here Creoles, a small 
number of English, with a few Germans, French and Amer- 
icans constituting the population. 

Our steamer stopped two hours at the La Brea point, 
Trinidad island, for us to see the great Pitch Lake, from' 
whence all the asphaltum comes, which is used to pave the 
streets of nearly, or quite every American city. This Pitch 
Lake is about one mile from shore, fifty feet above sea level, 
and has an area of one hundred and ten acres of asphalt; it 
is apparently inexhaustible. As fast as it is dug out and re- 
moved it fills in again, and the shipping out of two hundred 
thousand tons per year does not diminish the amount. 

An American corporation has leased this asphalt lake, 
paymg the Trinidad government ninety cents per ton royalty, 
and are making a fortune out of their lease. They have es- 
tablished an endless wire rope line from the lake to their 
loading dock, so that they simply dig out the asphalt in large 
chunks and load it into small iron cars, which run on the 
rope to the vessel, and are dumped, and the empty car is pulled 
back by the loaded car going down, the most economical way 
of handling this heavy material. It is of a coal tar nature, 
possibly coal in its formation period, although very different. 
The Trinidad government gets about fifty thousand dollars 
per year royalty from this Pitch Lake. 

On coming out of the Port of Spain harbor about six 
p. m. we sailed along the coast for two hours, viewing the 
scenery, which is beautiful, pronounced by some to be equal 
to that of the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence. A great 
many people in the city have homes all along this coast. 



171 



WEST INDIES 




BARBADOS. 



We called at the island of Barbados, which is a colony 
of England, sometimes called "Little England." The natives 
are negroes, descendant from African stock, brought here as 
slaves centuries ago. There are a few half-bloods and quar- 
ter bloods, but they are mostly of pure African descent. The 
climate is so salubrious that they have multiplied greatly, and 
at present there is a population of over 200,000 on this small 
island of one hundred and sixt3^-six square miles of territory, 
about the most densely populated country on earth. It is 
warm and dry here during the winter months, and many with 
lung troubles come here during the season from the United 
States and England. There were one hundred and twenty 
boarders at the Marine Hotel when we were there, and some 
of them had been coming for several seasons. The harbor 
of Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, where we landed is 
very poor, and cannot really be classed as a harbor, as it is 
only a shallow bay with a wide open side to the sea. For- 
tunately, this so-called harbor lies on the west side of the 
island, and the trade winds which prevail here regularly for 
six months of the year, always blowing from the southeast, 
blow over the island, which is low, and the water in the har- 
bor is usually calm. We anchored about a mile out and landed 
in small tenders. There was much shipping tied up to the 
wharf, mostly sail boats which trade with the adjacent islands. 
The central part of the city is compactly built of stone or 
brick, and the outskirts are the poorest kind of one-room 
shacks. We took a carriage and drove to the Governor's pal- 
ace, which is situated on a slight elevation. The palace is 
also the Governor's office, and a fort, as there are several 
cannons located in the front and rear. The soldiers are Ne- 
groes, recruited from the native population. From there we 
drove several miles across the island and passed many sugar 

173 



WEST INDIES 




SUGAR CANE MILL— RUN BY WIND POWER. BARBADOS. 



BARBADOS 

plantations and cotton fields. The sugar cane is ground with 
the old fashioned Holland windmills, with huge arms forty 
feet long used for power. There are a great many of these 
quaint old windmills all over the island. The cotton fields 
are now in blossom and generally look like there would be a 
good crop. We asked our coachman when they gathered the 
cotton; he replied, "when it is ripe." The principal crops are 
cane sugar, cotton and Negro babies. The last seems to be 
the most prolific. 

These children go to school, as we saw many of their 
school rooms filled to overflowing. All study aloud in the 
Chinese fashion. They are the most polite colored people we 
have ever met, almost always bowing respectfully and say- 
ing, "good morning marster." They all speak English, and 
appear healthy, well fed and contented. In our drive across 
the island we passed many large and well built Villas which 
were vacant. The grass and weeds growing in what once 
were well-kept driveways. There is a general appearance of 
decline in the agriculture conditions. In a suburb of the city 
called "Belleville" are many quite pretty summer residences, 
with gardens well kept, and ornamented with that most beau- 
tiful of all tropical trees, the royal palm. 



ST. PIERRE, MARTINIQUE. 

We sailed close along the shore of Martinueque to view 
the ruins of the City of Saint Pierre, destroyed by the great 
volcano, Mt. Peele. 

One bright May morning, seven years ago, this prosper- 
ous city of thirty thousand souls, was destroyed by the gas 
and fumes of Mt. Peele, in a moment, putting to death in- 
stantly every individual in the city, except one, who was in 
a dungeon, in that part of the jail most distant from the 
volcano. The walls of the houses are still standing, but the 

175 



WEST INDIES 




DOMINICA 

place today looks more like Pompeii, than any other place I 
know of; in fact, it looks more dreary, if anything, than 
Pompeii. It is not likely ever to be re-built. There are a 
few fishermen living there now. We saw one house which 
appeared to be habitable, as it had a new roof. There stands 
Mt. Peele, looking down on this desolated city, and still 
steaming and smoking ; it may have gas enough left to destroy 
another city. The steam and vapor made a cloud which hid 
the top of the mountain from us. There is a deep cut, or canal 
running all the way down from the peak to the sea, as wide 
as a street, and some places perhaps fifty feet wide, a channel 
made by lava flowing into the sea. The whole place gives one 
a shock on looking at it, as it brings the horrible tragedy so 
forcibly to the mind. 

The island of Martinique looks very prosperous and fer- 
tile in other parts, except that devastated by this great vol- 
cano. 



DOMINICA. 

Our ship made a short call at Roseau, the capital city 
of Dominica. The island has no harbor, but a small pier on 
the sea beach; the ocean is deep at this place and ships come 
close in to the shore. The town claims six thousand popula- 
tion, all black or mulatto, speaking French Patio and Pigeon 
English. The island has been under the care of the English 
since 1756, and while it is a pretty little island, it is not of 
much importance. We went ashore for a few hours. There 
are a few good looking residences, a very good park and a 
botanical garden. As there was but one carriage in Roseau, 
and that was engaged before we could reach it, we walked 
a mile or two out to the small hills. The island of Dominica 
is noted as being the home of the "Last of the Caribs." They 
are the original Indians, which inhabited all of West Indies 

177 



WEST indip:s 




WEST INDIES 




STATUE OF COLUMBUS, SANTO DOMINGO, WEST INDIES. 



WEST INDIES 




SANTO DOMINGO 

before they were discovered by Columbus. There are only 
a few families of them left; they live near the south end of 
Dominica by themselves, and have but little communication 
with the other inhabitants of the island. They are fast dying 
off, and in a few years there will be none left to tell their sor- 
rowful tale. 



SANTO DOMINGO. 

On March 20th, 1909, we called at this, the oldest city 
of the Western Hemisphere, founded by Columbus in 1496. 
We saw the casket containing the body of Christopher Colum- 
bus. We also saw Christopher Columbus' body in the cathedral 
at Seville, Spain, about four years ago; which place has the 
real body we could not guess. This is a walled city, built four 
hundred years ago. The wall is about twenty feet high, built 
for protection against the Indians; the material is brick and 
mortar ; most of it is standing today. The residence and fort 
built by Don Diego Columbus, son of Christopher, is on the 
city wall near where we landed, and is in good repair, con- 
sidering the age. The city is situated on the west bank of the 
Ozama river, which affords a quiet little harbor, for such 
ships as Columbus used, but is so shallow that ordinary steam- 
ers of the present day cannot get in, and we anchored out 
about two miles, going in with small tenders. Santo Domingo 
has about ten thousand population; they are generally full 
blooded Negroes, but we saw few white, or but slightly mixed 
with African blood. This is a Negro republic, and has many 
so-called revolutions. The government is not of great sta- 
bility, though said to be very more stable and better in every 
way than the sister republic, Haiti. There is very little pro- 
gress shown here; in fact, the city is on the down grade. 

i8t 



WEST INDIES 




SANTIAGO de CUBA 



Early in the morning of March 22nd, 1909, we sailed into 
the beautiful harbor of Santiago. We had read much about 
this harbor, still we were surprised at the hidden appearance; 
also the general beauty of the surroundings. Certainly if there 
had been no "Old Moro," fort on the hill we might have read- 
ily passed the inlet without suspecting that inside lay one of 
the best harbors, six miles long and three miles wide. The 
entrance is only six hundred feet wide; on the right stands 
"Old Moro" Castle and fort arising two hundred feet above 
the sea. Looking straight into the harbor, after you have 
fairly entered, you see a hill in front of you, and apparently 
there is no way in, but slow down the engine and go cau- 
tiously, you will find a channel turning to the left, still you 
will have to go ve'ry carefully, as the channel again turns 
sharply to the right, with hills ahead one hundred feet high, 
or more. One passenger remarked "a boat should have hinges 
to go through this place," but one more turn and you are in 
the harbor of Santiago, a beautiful body of water, deep 
enough for any ship, and as calm as an inland lake, which 
it really is. The storms of the sea have no effect upon it, 
as it is surrounded by hills, covered with perpetual green. It 
is beautiful, and will not soon be forgotten. This is where 
the Spanish Admiral, Cervera, with his fleet, remained for 
more than forty days, securely hidden from our navy, under 
Admiral Sampson. I have always had sympathy for Admiral 
Cervera. There he was, with his five battleships, the flower 
of the Spanish navy, bottled up, with the cork left out. 
Our army was approaching from the land side, and our Naval 
Squadron lay three miles out of the harbor, like a cat, watch- 
ing for a mouse. If he remained in harbor he would soon 
have General Shafter's cannon popping at him, and if he es- 

i8> 



WEST INDIES 




SANTIAGO de CUBA 

sayed to go out, he would have to meet our fleet, with a force 
double his own. Certainly, he was between the ''devil and 
the deep sea." After consideration, he chose the latter horn 
of the dilemma, and the rapid fire guns of our ships soon laid 
everyone of his vessels on the beach, where their bones still 
he, bleaching in the tropical sun. The gallant Hobson's part 
of this actual warfare should not be forgotten, for when he 
with eight other men, who are entitled to just as much glory 
as he, sunk the Merrimac in this channel, they certainly per- 
formed the bravest act of the Spanish War. Santiago lies at 
the head of this harbor, and is a pretty place of fifty thousand 
Cubans. We landed at a very pretty little 'Take house" style 
of a pier, in what it is called the "Marine Park," where we took 
a carriage for a drive, in order to make the most of our short 
stay. The city has a first-class electric street car system, 
many wholesale shipping warehouses, very good- retail stores 
and an old cathedral, said to be larger than that in Havana, 
and several plazas, which add to the beauty of the place very 
much. Our drive took us out in the country three miles to 
the far famed battlefield of San Juan Hill. This hill is a high 
elevation, and one obtains here a fine view of the battlefield 
of El Caney, three miles to the northward in the valley. About 
all the real fighting which occurred on land during the Span- 
ish war was done here. We saw here the block house which 
has been rebuilt of brick, also the marble monument, to mark 
the battlefield. The famous "Peace Tree," where general 
Shafter received the surrender of the Spanish army under 
General Toral, on July 17th, 1898, stands here. There is also 
a fine marble gateway, recently built near this spot by a mis- 
guided lady philanthropist, "in honor of the brotherhood of 
man." We say mis-guided because we do not think there is 
anything m this vicinity to suggest "the brotherhood of man," 
but quite the contrary. 



185 



WEST INDIES 




HAVANA 



We arrived here March 24th, 1909, and went at once or 
an excursion, first to the fortifications and "Moro" Castle. 
The view of the bay and city from "El Moro" is very beau- 
tiful indeed. The elevation is about one hundred feet above 
the sea. The Cuban army use these fortifications as barracks 
and parade grounds. We saw about one thousand Cuban sol- 
diers here, and about one-third of them were green recruits, 
being drilled without guns. Nearly all of these soldiers are 
Negroes. Not more than one in five are white. They now 
dress in khaki uniforms, and make a passible showing while 
drilling. The Cuban bond were playing and gave us several 
very good pieces of music. They number about one hundred 
musicians ; a few Negroes, but more were Spanish or white. 
There is no race distinction in the Cuban army, so far as we 
could observe. This army is certainly a useless luxury, so far 
as interference of other nations are concerned, and could be 
•entirely dispensed w^ith, as no other nation is likely to trouble 
Cuba while our government protects her. The real purpose 
of her army is no doubt to put down rebellions and revolu- 
tions among themselves, and for that purpose they may be 
needed. The Havana harbor is admirably situated. "El 
Moro" castle and light house stands at the entrance, which is 
about one thousand feet wide, while the harbor is about three 
miles long and one mile wide. As we sailed in at 7 a. m. the 
-city made a very pleasing impression. The water is deep 
•enough for the largest vessels, and is visited by ships from all 
parts of the world. The black and rusty hull of our battleship 
■*'Maine," which was destroyed ten years ago, still lies in the 
•central part of the harbor, and a very unpleasant reminder of 
the loss of two thousand and sixty-seven of our brave sailor 
"boys. The city of Havana has a population of four hundred 
thousand, and is a thriving, prosperous place. Several large 

187 



WEST INDIES 




PQ 
O 

> 

o 
m 
Pi 
< 



HAVANA 

business houses, three or four stories, and some of steel frame 
concrete construction, are now being built. In the suburbs 
many fine residences are also being built. The streets are 
well paved, and the city as clean as an American city. Elec- 
tric street car lines run to all parts of Havana, and give ex- 
cellent service, fare five cents, American money, or seven 
cents, Spanish money. The Pradeo is a beautiful street, run- 
ning through the central part, one hundred and eighty feet 
wide, with a driveway of fifty feet on each side, and the mid- 
dle eighty feet devoted to park purposes, with three strips of 
grass, three rows of shade trees and two wide walks, paved 
with flag stone. 

The houses on either side of this Pradeo are from two to 
four stories high and painted in bright colors, giving them a 
fresh new appearance, and taken as a whole, this great street 
is certainly a credit to Havana, and would be a credit to any 
American city. Generally, however, the streets are only about 
twenty feet wide and sidewalks three feet wide, just like the 
old Spanish cities. Many shopping streets are so narrow that 
carriages are only permitted to go through them in one di- 
rection. Yet through these narrow streets electric cars are 
permitted to lay their tracks. In many places the tracks are 
so near the walls of buildings that they force the pedestrians 
to give up the sidewalks and go across the street. The retail 
stores carry well selected stocks, and will compare favorably 
with our large cities, except that the stores are generally 
quite small. The hotels are said to have greatly improved 
since the American occupation. We stopped at the Sevilla, 
which has only recently been built, and is a beautiful clean 
looking hotel; the meals were cooked American style, but not 
good, and the prices very high. In fact, living at the Havana 
hotels is more expensive for what one gets than in New York 
City. We visited the cathedral where the bones of Christopher 
Columbus were said to have rested about two hundred years, 

189 



WEST INDIES 




o 



> 
o 



WEST INDIES 




WEST INDIES 




HAVANA 

but were transferred to Spain, after the Spanish war. This 
reminds us of the great sacrifice our country made for the 
sake of Cuba. We took up their fight with Spain, and spent 
the lives of our soldiers, and millions of our money in pure 
philanthropy, to free Cuba from the unjust burdens of Spain. 
Then putting them on their feet we told them to form a Re- 
public, and govern themselves. When they failed in their 
first attempt, we again took charge of their affairs, until they 
could make a second attempt. History does not record any 
parallel of such unselfish national philanthropy, and yet, with 
all that we have done for Cuba, we do not believe they have 
any love or gratitude for our country. The natives, each and 
every one of them, desire to be the treasurer of Cuba, and as 
there are too many of them to fill the offices, there is likely 
to be revolutions frequently. Should we have to send our 
army here again to require the Cubans to keep peace among 
themselves, I think it would be wise for us to annex Cuba, 
and give them a stable government. The prices of real estate 
in Havana have advanced very much during the last few years, 
even with the unstable conditions which have existed, and a 
Cuban business man said to me "the prices on real estate in 
Havana are high, and should we have another revolution, 
then Uncle Sam will take hold again, and that would make it 
all the better for us." While our forces were in charge here, 
the bull fighting, which has been the chief amusement of the 
Cubans, was discontinued, and has not yet been revived. In 
place of bull fighting the Cubans now have an athletic ball 
game called "Jai Alai," a little like tennis, but played with 
small baskets ; the game is played with great vigor, and betting 
on the game is the important part of the amusement. 

The sugar crop this year is one of the largest ever raised 
here, and the prices good. The island is certainly the best 
in the West Indies, and for sugar and tobacco growing, is 
probably not equalled by any other place. Havana is so ac- 
cessible to the residents of the United States on the Atlantic 
coast, that it will become popular as a winter resort. 

193 



WEST INDIES 




NASSAU. 



We arrived at Nassau, March 27th, 1909, and after pass- 
ing the customs officer, which cost us nothing, as we had no 
whiskey, and only a few cigars, which we brought from Ha- 
vana, which we left in the custody of the custom house of- 
ficers until we should depart. We were soon installed at the 
beautiful Colonial, which is one of the Flaglers, and a high 
grade hotel ; the rates are high, but the service and rooms are 
first-class. The tropical gardens and surroundings of this 
hotel are among the finest and a delight to the eye. Nassau 
harbor is good for small crafts, but steamers drawing more 
than ten feet of water are compelled to anchor out in the wide 
ocean. This harbor is about six miles long, and a half mile 
wide, sheltered by "Hog Island." While the city of Nassau 
has about two thousand population, still the Colonial 
Hotel is the all important part of the town ; it has room 
for five hundred guests, and is open from January ist, to 
April 1st, each 3^ear. The city has a quaint old-fashioned 
look ; most of the residences look like they were built before 
Columbus discovered America, and have not been painted or 
repaired since. The northern tourist is the best crop in Nas- 
sau; the climate is so delightful that the Colonial is filled to 
overflowing during the season, and some Americans have built 
homes here. While there are many pleasant places in the 
West Indies to spend the winter, we think the climate of Nas- 
sau is about the best, at least, it is nearly perfection. The 
sailing is fine ; sail boats are plenty, and rates reasonable. One 
of the amusements is the "Sea Garden," about three miles 
from Nassau on the inside of "Hog Island." The glass bot- 
tom boats give one an opportunity to view the peculiar fish 
and sea plants, and the water is so clear, that the bottom of 
the sea can be plainly seen. Fish of many kinds and colors, 
and sea weeds, growing on the bottom, swaying in the water, 

195 



WEST INDIES 




NASSAU 

make quite an interesting picture. The surf bathing is 
excellent on the outside of "Hog Island" and a large swim- 
ming pool is a part of the hotel. There are amusements 
enough here to keep many guests through the season. Most 
of the churches are represented in Nassau. We attended the 
Church of England ; the congregation was composed of black 
and white people ; Among others, the Governor of the island, 
was present. The edifice is called "The Cathedral" ; the music 
was excellent, but we cannot say as much for the sermon. 
Six of the choir boys were white, and six were black. The 
ushers were three white and three black. Very evenly di- 
vided as to the officers. There is certainly no race preju- 
dice in this church. Sponge fishing is the principal industry 
of the people, and there is quite a fleet of small sail boats in 
the harbor which are engaged in the sponge fishing trade. 
They do not dive for the sponges, but have hooks on long 
poles and pull the sponges off the sea bottom and lift them 
out of the water with these hooks. There is a long shed on 
the dock called the "sponge market," and there are many deal- 
ers called "sponge merchants," who make this their business. 
More than four-fifths of the population are Negroes, and they 
are the blackest we have ever seen, the shining jet black, 
with but very few mulattos. These Negroes are the most in- 
telligent and best looking that we have seen in the West 
Indies. They speak the English like the Englishman, with 
the broad A. The small local army are all Negroes, and they 
are as black as the "Ace of Spades." We saw them in their 
dress uniforms this morning marching into church, and they 
were a fine looking company of soldiers. 

On leaving Nassau we boarded a small steamer for one 
night's sail across the gulf stream, which is the most wonder- 
ful stream in the world, flowing through the ocean with a 
strong current for thousands of miles, and making the coast 
of Eng-land and Ireland mild and warm, although they are 
so near the cold parts of the earth. The Gulf Stream be- 
tween Nassau and Florida is usually quite rough, and we were 

197 



WEST INDIES 




ONE ROYAL PALM, NASSAU ISLAND. 



NASSAU 

glad when we were landed at Miami, Florida. In fact, we are 
always more glad to get back to our Native land than we are 
to leave it. The more we see of foreign lands, the better sat- 
isfied we are with our own 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

Did you ever for a moment consider 

How greatly you were blest 
When the stork dropped you here 

Instead of in a Hindu's Nest? 

Then think of your many blessings 

Count them, one by one. 
And never forget that you're living 

In the best land under the sun. 

W. W. W. 



199 



PRESS OF COMBE PRINTING CO. 
ST. JOSEPH. MO., U.S.A. 



'^^^^ ^'4 m\\ 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



' DEC 26 19! 2 



